69
settlement at a figure of only £28,650, that
being the sum due for sorting, marking,
preparing and delivering to the ship, the
9,550 tons of requisitioned Chinese wagon
material at £3 per ton. The War ofice
would be prepared to reconsider this
settlement if evidence were produced as to
the value and description of missing
materials which it is claimed were
manufactured in Hong Kong.
4. The position with regard to the Chinese
claim is that Dr. Hsu of the Jardine
AE
Engineering Corporation Limited, who are acting
as agents for the Chinese Government, was present
at a meeting at the War Office on 12th August
1948 and he was then informed that the claim
for £323,689: 10s., supported by Vouchers
003,004,006,007, and 008, was admitted in
principle but only at a revised valuation of
£185,847. A detailed statement giving
reasons for this devaluation of the Chinese
Evel 5
file)
(copy of Endl. to (47) m 1948
(5)
1947
claim is attached. As indicated in the
A
footnote to that statement the War Office were
further
unable to trace Voucher 005 for £29,769 to which
the Jardine Engineering Corporation have
referred. It would appear from the letter
from the Company dated 28th May, 1946 which
appears as Appendix C to Sir Mark Young's
derpatch of 10th April 1947, that Voucher 005
was in fact lodged with the Accountant
General Hong Kong at the same time as the
others and I should be grateful for
information which might enable this voucher to be traced,