OUTWARD TELEGRAM
FROM THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES
54147/1/A
Code
IMMEDIATE
TO HONG KONG (Sir A. Grantham)
Sent 18th July, 1951. 23.00 hrs.
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No. 866.
Confidential.
Your telegram 757.
University Endowment Fund.
Following confidential and personal from
Sidebotham. Begins.
Proposals in your savingram were discussed fully with persons indicated in your telegram under reference who stressed that there was little prospect of raising money in Hong Kong unless His Majesty's Government agreed to contribute an equivalent sum up to £250,000.
2. Treasury have not yet been formally approached but in present financial circumstances of U.K. overnment there seems little chance of any money being made available particularly in view of £500,000 already granted to the University.
3. As you know United Kingdom are proposing to use Japanese assets in the United Kingdom to benefit ex prisoners of war, etc. Your telegrams 748 and 760- foresee difficulties in adopting a similar scheme for Hong Kong. Japanese assets in Hong Kong are thought to amount to £1 million and on understanding, which has not yet been finally agreed, that assets in the Colony will be at your disposal, it appears to us that one possible solution to present problem would be to hypothecate all or some of these Japanese assets for the establishment of the Endowment Fund.
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The position of the University is being submitted to Secretary of State who it is being suggested should discuss with Morse and Lo and Sloss towards the latter part cf next week but before this takes place we would be glad to know your reactions to the Japanese assets suggestion above. We must stress that we think the chance of getting any further direct grant from His Majesty's Government is very remote. Ends.
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