54145/46
&
Colonial Office,
Downing Street,
S.W.1.
8th February, 1947.
TOP SECRET
Dear Kitson,
You have no doubt seen my Secretary of State's reply, dated 4th February, to Mr. Bevin's letter of the 28th January (F.527/376/G), in which Mr. Creech Jones expressed the hope that Mr. Bevin would agree that the Far Eastern (official) Committee should proceed with the consideration of the future status of Hong Kong and that the revised paper should be submitted to that Committee as quickly as possible.
In view of this letter, I hope that you will be able to let me have, within the next day or so, Foreign Office comments on the revised paper which I sent you with my letter of the 14th January. If it would assist, I would gladly come over and discuss the paper with you.
On looking through the revised draft, I think that the reference to the airfield project in the New Territories in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph ́12 ought to be amplified so that the Ministers will be aware of the relevant facts. I therefore propose to substitute the following for the existing sub- paragraphL-
"(c) The insecurity of our present tenure of the
New Territories for new projects involving substantial expenditure, e.g. the airfield project estimated to cost £4,000,000. It has
G.V. KITSON, ESQ. FOREIGN OFFICE.
been