CO537-(205_1260-1262) — Page 557

00077

77

tended, with Colonel Chalmers, a meeting

Officers of the Services who are

draft of the Paper about the future

ong Kong for the consideration of the

3.

As regards the proposal that there

cussions between the War Office and the

ce about the establishment of a

or as it was put in No. 74 a nucleus

I made the following points:-

risk of an attack on Hong Kong in

force by Chinese war lords or guerillas

regarded lightly. All competent

n the spot were agreed that it was a

1

and that the withdrawal of the British

d by increase it.

tish garrison in Hong Kong would be able, developed, to offer effective resistance

rrival of reinforcements, and its presence

lf be a deterrent against an attack

d.

In neither respect could a

onsisting of a mixed force of Europeans

be regarded as a satisfactory

r British troops.

Hands It had been strongly urged

and military authorities in Hong Kong

it Asia that a British garrison should be

long Kong until conditions in China were

The Colonial Office very strongly

.8 view. If it were accepted, the

withdrawing the British garrison

and replacing it with a gendarmerie

se as a practical issue at present and

10 within any period which can be

is quite impossible to guess how

/mattere

000 78

matters may develop in China, and it would be foolish

to assume that the risk of an attack on Hong Kong

i

is likely to disappear within any given period.

It may

12

GMI

Ref.:

CO 537/1261

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

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It may cease to exist in 2 or 3 years.

continue for 10. düzədildiz.clz stida We remain of the on this basis opinion that no useful purpose would be served by

discussing with the War Office the arrangements for

establishing a gendarmerie, and nothing would be

gained at the present time by forming a nucleus

gendarmerie.

(4) In the revised draft at No. 74, however, the fin

Paper on Hong Kong auggested that it might be

necessary owing to the acute shortage of manpower in

the Army, to withdraw even the small British garrison

which it was proposed to leave in Hong Kong, in order

to meet an emergency elsewhere. If indeed military

reserves were so short that it might be necessary to

withdraw garrisons from their stations abroad to

deal with any new situations which could reasonably

to Dilop

be expected in the visible future, then it seemed to

me that the Service Authorities should undertake a

survey of the sources from which such garrisons could

Lath by Chandra, be provided and of the order of priority in which

they should be withdrawn. The question of taking

precautionary measures to provide against h with-

drawal could then be considered in its proper

perspective for each Colonial territory involved.

did not seem to me justifiable arbitrarily to pick

a

It

on Hong Kong as the source from which British troops Shemale ooted be withdrawn to meet emergencies elsewhere

without first surveying the whole field.

(5) In any case the formation of a gendarmerie

with a high proportion of British personnel at the

present time would be a matter of very great

/difficulty.

N

Ref.:

CO 537/1261

THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES

N

restrictions Further information is given in the enclosed Terms and Conditions of supply of National Archwes leaflet

Please note that this copy is supplied subject to the National Archives' terms and conditions and that your use of it may be subject to copyright