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SIR SAMUEL HOARE replied that it was required owing to the growing number of Fleet Air Arm units at Hong Kong, for future civil purposes, and for the defence of Hong Kong. This was the unanimous opinion of the Naval, Military and Air authorities. In reply to a further question by Mr. Churchill, he mentioned that the aerodrome was about 80 miles from Canton. Between £4,000 and £5,000 had already been spent levelling a corner of the aerodrome for use in the present emergency, although the land did not belong to us.
MR. CHURCHILL suggested that, if the aerodrome could not be completed in less than 1 years, it was unlikely to be of use during the present troubles in China.
MR. AMERY suggested that crises were likely to go on occurring.
MR. CHURCHILL submitted that the question was not an urgent one, and that it had no bearing on the immediate situation in China, although he admitted that it would no doubt be a good thing in future to have an aerodrome at Hong Kong. If the Air Ministry put this item high in the order of urgency of Air works, they should then delete from their Estimates some other less urgent item. In existing financial circumstances it was absolutely necessary to pick and choose between matters that must be dealt with and those that could wait until times were more favourable. He asked where, in their order of urgency, the Air Ministry placed the aerodrome at Hong Kong. Was it, for example, more important than the airship sheds which they had asked for? The whole of the £18,000,000 asked for Air services, which had been added to our burden since the war, was entirely additional to Naval and Military expenditure, and he was strongly of the opinion that if the expense of the Hong Kong aerodrome was to be charged to British funds, some item involving expenditure at home should be cut out.
SIR SAMUEL HOARE said that in his previous remarks he had purposely tried to avoid touching on the financial aspect of the question which the Chancellor of the Exchequer had now raised. He again pointed out that the Committee and everyone else concerned with Imperial Defence had been considering this question for the last 18 months, and had unanimously agreed that the acquisition of the aerodrome was desirable.
THE PRIME MINISTER intervened to say that although this was the case, financial considerations could not be ignored, and he suggested that all the Committee need do was to re-affirm that the acquisition of the site was most desirable, leaving it to the Cabinet to consider the question of expense.
SIR LAMING WORTHINGTON-EVANS suggested that if Hong Kong was to pay a portion of the cost, it should be made clear that this was not to come out of the Military Contribution made by the Colony. Otherwise, the result would be in effect that the whole cost of the aerodrome would come on to the Army Vote.
The
MR. AMERY pointed out that the prolonged boycott and subsequent trade depression had resulted in the exhaustion of Hong Kong's financial resources. Colony was already paying an annual defence contribution of 20 per cent. of its revenue, and in more prosperous days had made a special contribution of £250,000 towards the cost of the Singapore Base. In these circumstances, it could hardly be expected that Hong Kong would be able to meet the whole cost of the aerodrome.
SIR LAMING WORTHINGTON-EVANS mentioned that last year Hong Kong had reduced the Military Contribution by £100,000 because they were hard up. This involved a corresponding addition to War Office Estimates.
MR. AMERY said that the question of dredgers from Macao, previously mentioned by him, was an important one, since they would only be available if taken up by the loth of this month. He therefore suggested that it was important for the Cabinet to arrive at a decision before that date.
MR. CHURCHILL suggested that in the first instance this was a matter for the Treasury to decide in consultation with the Departments concerned. If the Departments found themselves unable to agree with the Treasury reference would have to be made to the Cabinet.
SIR LAMING WORTHINGTON-EVANS asked that it should be borne in mind that the Army Estimates were closely affected.
CONCLUSIONS.
THE COMMITTEE OF IMPERIAL DEFENCE agreed-
(a.) That the immediate acquisition of the Kai Tak site for an aerodrome
was most desirable for reasons of Imperial Defence.
(b.) That the question of providing the necessary funds was one for the Treasury and other Government Departments concerned to deal with.
2, Whitehall Gardens, S.W, 1,
April 6, 1927.
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