CO537-1658 — Page 43

OUTWARD TELEGRAM

瞻

18

54179/46

Cypher (0.T.P.)

16

No. 1176 Secret.

(Sir

TO HONG KONG (81r M. Young)

FROM S. OF 8. COLONIES,

17.00 hrs.

Sent 4th November, 1946. 17.00 hre.

Your telegram No. 1315. Shum Wai Yaut.

1. I have now received your secret despatch of the 7th October and note that in the enclosed petition it is claimed that Shum is of British nationality. If that claim should be established, there could, of course, be no question of surrendering him to the Chinese under the Collaborators Ordinance, If the claim is not established but you decide in Executive Council against the making of an order for Shum's surrender, I should not wish to be consulted but should like the simple fact of your decision (or of the establishment of claim to British nationality if that should be established) to be reported to me so that solicitors here may be informed.

2. If however conclusion in Executivo Council favours surrender it will be necessary for me to consider substance of petition. I note in this connection last sentence of your telegram. It would be helpful if, when informing me that Executive Council took above view, you would report reasons for conclusion that ourrender should be made and would at the same time deal with any points raised by the petition which are not oppressly covered by the statement of the reasons for your conclusion.

3 Meanwhile the solicitors here, who have now asked that "the circumstances should be argued before the Secretary of State by some eminent K. C, are being told that I had already received a full petition, that the

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