CO537-1911 — Page 12

DRAFT AND RECORD COPY

Mr. Galsworthy

4433/1/46/47

SECRET

Dear MacDougall,

称

Colonial Office,

Downing Street,

S.W.1.

14th July, 1947.

2

The Dairy Farm, Ice and Cold Storage Company, Limited, Hong Kong.

I give below relevant extracts from a letter we have recently had from the Security Services:-

"As you know, "The Dairy Farm, Ice and Cold Storage Co. Ltd.", Hong Kong, operates a large farm and has virtually a monopoly of the fresh dairy produce of the Colony. It also imports from Australia frozen meat, game and dairy produce.

2.

D.S.O. Hong Kong informs me that the Company employ on their farms seven stateless Russians, one Ukrainian and one German, and have hinted that they will shortly be applying for permission to bring in other Stateless persons from Shanghai to assist with their rapidly increasing business.

3.

When applying for permission to bring in aliens, the Company always state that they have a good knowledge of Dairy farming, that Europeans are better farmers than Chinese, and that employment and accommodation are guaranteed. On the other hand, there is no guarantee of perpetual employment and two other Stateless Russians have recently left the firm's employment and taken other jobs in the Colony. D.S.O. points out that though it may be necessary to allow the entry of persons who can assist in the rehabilitation of the Colony, the fact that none of these aliens has a re-entry visa to Shanghai or anywhere else, and that if any of them should become undesirable they cannot be deported, is somewhat disturbing from the security point of view."

The letter goes on to say that it seems desirable that a British firm with British capital should employ British subjects (possibly some of the ex-service people who wish to emigrate from this country) in preference to adding to the number of non-deportable aliens in the Colony. It is admitted, however, that the problem is not as simple as it sounds, for one thing, no doubt, because we imagine that the aliens in question work for a salary far below the minimum required by British subjects.

However, I don't know whether the D.S.0. has already mentioned this to you, but in any case, I thought we should bring it to your notice, and we should be interested to have your comments in due course.

Yours sincerely,

D.M. MACDOUGALL, ESQ., C.M.G.

(A.N. Galsworthy)