54145/16/48 Pt. III.
ANNEX.
DRAFT CYPHER TELEGRAM
GOVERNOR,
FOR FOREIGN OFFICE CONCURRENCE
NO
SECRET.
HONG KONG
1.
Your telegram No. 298 of 14th March, Kowloon City.
PART I.
Case has been referred to the Law Officers of the Crown and their opinion is awaited as to the chances of success should it be taken to the International Court. Preliminary advice indicates
that while our case is good, it is far from cast-iron.
2. Meanwhile, following informal conversation with Sir Stafford Cripps, the Chinese Ambassador has left at the Forcign Office, a proposal for new compromise solution, the text of which follows in Part II.
3. The proposal is, of course, not free from objection on the major point that it involves a partial surrender of British jurisdiction to the Chinose. It is, however, first indication of a compromise attitude on the part of the Chinesc and in view of the possibility of advice from the Law Officers that our case is not so strong as had been thought I consider it merits careful consideration.
4.
Following are comments arising from discussion of the Chinese proposal here :-
(a) if there is to be an office in the Garden it should be a joint office for both Trustees (or clse each Trustec should have his own office there):
(b) The British Trustee should be appointed by the Hong ong
Government; prehaps both Trustees should be appointed jointly by both Governments:
(c) The Chinese may well wish to nominate the Special
Commissioner (Mr. Kwok) as thoir Trustee; it would be desirable for the Hong Kong representative to be a person of comparable standing who could at the same time effectively make use of the Trustees' office to the extent necessary to prevent its appearing to be a purely Chinese office, if a joint office were decided upon would such a person be available?
(a) the effect of the provisions suggested for inclusion
in Exchange of Notes could not, of course, be kept secret:
(e) in paragraph 1 under the heading "Exchange of Notes" the
words "administration of" should be substituted for the words "maintenance of order in":
(f) Hong Kong legislation would be necessary to give the force of law to the arrangements proposed in this paragraph, to which with the amendment mentioned in (e) above there is perhaps no great objection:
Appendix.
-1-
/(g).....