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matter should receive Ministerial consideration, because of the need for a reassuring public statement about Hong Kong to allay the uncertainty which exists among businessmen and also the inhabitants of the Colony regarding our intentions. At the moment, the last word on the subject is a letter which Mr. Bevin wrote to the Secretary of State, before his departure for Moscow. In this letter, Mr. Bevin took the line that this question should not be further pursued in the Far Eastern (Official) Committee, and that he would prefer to wait until he had a talk with General Marshall before considering a possible reference to the Cabinet for a decision. He went on to refer to the grave deterioration in the situation in China which he thought would cause a statement about Hong Kong to seem gratuitously provocative to the Chinese at a time when they are in no position to do anything about it.
There the matter rests at the moment.
In
I don't think that we can expect to make any further progress until Mr. Bevin returns from Moscow. the meantime, however, I have prepared a draft paper to the Cabinet on the basis of the revised draft F.E.(0) paper. I enclose a copy of this draft, which I have not yet submitted here. There is, of course, no question of the paper going into the Cabinet before Mr. Bevin returns from Moscow.
If you have any suggestions to offer, I shall naturally be very glad of them.
"Yours sincerely,
(Sgd.) N.L." Mayle
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