CO537-3707 — Page 182

54345/16/48 Part II.

Cypher (0.T.P.)

IMMEDIATE

No.691 Secret,

OUTWARD TELEGRAM

TO HONG KONG (Sir A. Granthem)

FROM S. OF S., COLONIES.

Sent 18th June, 1948. 21.45 hrs.

Aðdressed Governor, Hong Kong.

Repeated H.B.M.Ambassador, Nanking.

键

249/250.

Commissioner-General,South Saet Asia,

No.23.

Part 1.

Your telegram No.298 of 14th March.

Kowloon City.

1. 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 iudicates that while our eage is good, it is far fron caat-iron,

•

2, Heanwhile, following informal conversation with Sir Stafford Cripps, the Chinese Ambassador has left at the Foreign Office a proposal for new compromise. solution, the text of which allows in Part II.

3. The proposal is, of course, not free from objection on the mejor point that it involves a partial surrender of British jurisdiction to the Chinese. It is, however, first indication of a compromise attatude on the part of the Chinose and in view of the possibility of advice from the Law Officers that our case is net so strong as had been thought I consider it merite careful consideration.

Liv

Following are coments arising from discussion of the Chineɛe proposal bere:-

(a) if there is to be an office in the Garden it

should be a joint office for both

Trustees (or else each Trustee should have his own office there);

(b) the British Trustee should be appointed by the

Hong Kong Government; perhaps both Trustees should be appointed jointly by both Governments;

(c) the Chinese may well wish to nominate as

Special Commissioner (Mr. Ryok) as their 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