59
18 months later, we are still not in a position
to give the Hong Kong Government any indication
of the progress of the claims. We have had
reminders from Hong Kong dated the 14th July and the (31A) and (38)
18th September this year and there is pressure
on the Governor from unofficial members in
the Legislative Council as to what is being
done about these claims. It has occurred to
me that there seems no reason why we should not
push on to a settlement of the Hong Kong
Government claims against H.M.G. irrespective
of the claims and counter-claims which concern
H. M. G. and the Chinese Government, and I would
like to suggest for your consideration that we should
do this. I shall hope to hear from you in the
near future about these claims. If a discussion
would help I should be happy to come round to you.
Incidentally, there appears to be an error
as to the amount of these claims in paragraph 6
of Scarlett's letter of the 20th July. The
claim on behalf of the Kowloon - Canton Railway
is correctly stated as £130,841/9/3, but that
on behalf of the War Supplies Board should, I
think, be £17,328/11/- (or thereabouts), not
£9,090/16/-. The War Supplies Board claim, as
I understand it, includes the freight charges
commission
as well as the Commissioner charges shown in
Annexure A to Hong Kong despatch No. 80 of the
10th April 1947 (c. f. paragraph 2 (iii) of that
despatch).
6. The third point to which I think I should
refer is this. In paragraph 5 of his letter
(21/24).
(5) on '47 file.
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