CO129-487 - Others & Individuals - 1924 — Page 628

Not Hear the

Any

official co

colle, c

Adminally do not want to pran

for dredging

channel

be done of any

want to pren for I gather the lo

this world

time, but do

Dear Sir Gilbert,

401 ou

the will.

lo. are not keen on

of means tock work on must leave the

this as

such ports we

Co.d the Acturially to settles

between themselves.

Co. want Ademially work

of the

They

will naturally falle Admiralty requiremento.

in with

I have not yet had the deimensions

from Admiral Freller.

15.7.24

GG

10th July, 1924.

te

617

I am in receipt of your letter of the 8th July enclosing a copy of a communication from

Mr. A.G.M. Fletcher, Assistant Colonial Secretary of Hong Kong, on the subject of the proposed new dry dock at

that place.

When I saw Mr. Fletcher I made it clear to him

that the Admiralty could not give any definite guarantee that an annual amount of fleet repair work would be given

I also told him, to commercial dockyards at Hong Kong. however, that there was no reason to think that there would be any change in the existing practice of sending H.M. Ships to refit at commercial yards at Hong Kong

when such a course was found to be necessary.

The Admiralty policy has been to observe religiously the spirit and letter of the Washington Naval Treaty and, though such a dock as that proposed

would be of very great potential value to the Navy, I

am afraid that we cannot support it even to the extent

of

I