23

claim for nearly one million pounds merely

indicate what we had already understood to

be the nature of the claim; and there seems

no goound for admit ting this claim to be

valid either against the U.K. or the Hong

Kong Government. We should propose that the

Chinese Government be told so if they

raise it again; if you and the other

interested departments agre, there seems

no point in discussing the claim any further

at present. I presume that should the

Chinese Communist Government inherit the

claim and raise it, the answer would be

the same; no doubt the Foreign Office

will let us know if they dissent from this

view.

5. So far as the claims by Hong Kong

are concerned, then, may we expect the

War office to make payment shortly on the

basis of the interim settlement of

£12,500 for the War Supplies Board claim

and £56,334 for the Railway claim, as set

out in the statement attached to our

saving No. 235?

J

enclosures,

Foreign Office

Treasury.

to

exprysing this, Coates at

with

te

Atherton at the

Yours sincerely,

(Syd) H. P. Hall.

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