CO129-507-1 Proposal to dispose of Boxer Indemnity funds- claim by Hong Kong university 21-12-1927 - 24-7-1928 — Page 110

Copy

(F 2777/6/10)

.401 (10/100)

British Legation,

Peking.

April 24th, 1928.

112

Sir,

During the course of conversation which I

had recently with Dr. Lo Wen Kan, the newly appointed

Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Peking Government,

he asked me if I thought His Majesty's Government were

thinking of making any move in the direction of imple-

menting their policy in regard to the disposal of the

British share of the Boxer indemnity, for purpose of

mutual benefit, in accordance with the recommendations of

the Willingdon Commission.

2.

I explained to Dr. Lo how in August last the

formation of the provisional committee which we were

then in process of bringing together to make preliminary

investigations in regard to the actual allocation and

expenditure of the funds had been held up owing to the

precarious position of the Nanking Government, certain

members of which had been asked to serve on the committee.

I also made it clear to him that owing to the state of

political confusion in China the drafting of the proposed

Bill to amend the China Indemnity (Application) Act of

1925 had had to be postponed. I said I feared that, if

we were to take up the formation of the provisional commit-

tee where we had left off last August, we might have

more difficulty in collecting the requisite six Chinese

members, who would be acceptable both to north and south.

With

The Right Honourable

Sir Austen Chamberlain, P.C., K.G.,

etc.,

etc.,

etc., Foreign Office,

S.W.1.

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