OUTWARD TELEGRAM
FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES.
54147/1/A
Cypher (0.T.P.)
TO HONG KONG (Sir A. Grantham)
Sent 5th August, 1951, 13.00 hrs.
No.930
Secret.
Addressed to Governor Hong Kong,
Repeated to Commissioner General, South East
Asia, No.352.
38
My telegram No.900 and your telegram No. 812.
University Endowment Fund.
Personal from Sidebotham.
Begins.
In view of paragraph 6 of your savingram No.756 both Morse and Lo recommended, and Secretary of State concurred, that target for Endowment Fund should be $16 million and if announcement was suitably worded it should be possible for balance of $4 million to be raised locally. Subject to paragraph 4 of this telegram it is proposed therefore that on same date as the announcement referred to in your telegram No. 812 is issued, after that date has been synchronised with Commissioner General, announcement should be made in London as follows:-
"The University of Hong Kong has recently sought assistance from H. M. G. towards the creation of an Endow- ment Fund of £1 million for the University.
As has recently been announced, the Japanese assets in the territories which were over-run by the Japanese will be placed at the disposal of the Secretary of State for the Oolonies to be applied for the benefit of all the territories so over-run.
After consulting the Governor of Hong Kong, the Secretary of State has decided that a sum of £750,000 out of the assets so made available for the benefit of Hong Kong should be contributed by H.M. G. towards such an Endowment Fund in the confident expectation that the balance of the £1 million required will be raised by local subscription for this extremely important purpose. The Secretary of State has expressed the hope that a proportion of the income from the fund so created will be applied towards the provision annually of an adequate number of scholarships at the Uni- versity for the benefit of the general community of Hong Kong".
2.
We concur in terms of announcement given in para- graph 1 of your telegram No. 812 except that in second sentence of first paragraph for "such assets" substitute "the assets in the over-run territories". We think also that paragraph about University should be in similar terms to that to be
/made