CO537-2188 — Page 196

of 22nd October, 1946, prior to its publication. We have

naturally agreed to disregard entirely the suggestions in

our telegram to Hong Kong No.959 of the 16th June, but we

shall now have to deal in our open despatch with the

proposal that there should be differentiation as between

non-British Chinese nationals on the one hand, and non- British Europeans and Americans on the other, in regard

to residential qualifications.

E

You will have seen from (a) of our telegram

No.959 of the 16th June that we were proposing an amend- ment to paragraph 37 of Sir Mark Young's despatch on the

subject of the reference to the usual condition regarding

the duration of the term of Leases in the case of the

New Territories, in accordance with the suggestion in the penultimate paragraph of your letter F.5527/376/10 of the

28th April. This amendment will now of course not be made

when to Sir Mark Young's despatch before it is published. personally does not feel that there is any real danger of the original wording of the paragraph in question leading to speculation in the minds of the Chinese that

this reference may connote a provision for a possible

curtailment of the lease of the New Territories.

He

In the

circumstances, we think we can only accept Sir Mark Young's

advice on this point, and I think you will agree with us

that it would probably be undesirable for us to take

up the point in our open despatch, which, as you know,

going to be published.

Y

is

I should mention that we have also agreed to drop the idea of the deletions which we suggested in paragraph 8(1) of our savingram to. Hong Kong No.32 of the 29th April should be made from his despatch No. 145, prior

to its publication. It is now intended that his despatch

exactly

shall be published as he wrote it.

We will let you know if any further substantial amendments arise in the despatch in its present form before it is finally agreed by all concerned and can issue, but

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meanwhile