CO129-507-1 Proposal to dispose of Boxer Indemnity funds- claim by Hong Kong university 21-12-1927 - 24-7-1928 — Page 122

6.

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rangement with the Chinese authorities, as a loan

without interest for the payment of British commercial

debts and other specified claims, such a loan to be repaid

to the Indemnity Fund when China liquidates the

cial debts and claims of other Powers, or in sosordance

with any debt consolidation scheme that may eventually

be adopted. As regards the principle underlying this

suggestion, I can only say that, while I do not myself

favour such a solution of the difficulty, a loan would not

have the objectionable features applying to a grant.

8. There are two possibilities that present them-

selves to me in this connection. In the first place, as

I mentioned in my telegram No. 1709 of December 9th, it

might conceivably be found possible to arrange for the

relief of some small part of this burden of debt by the

use of the accrued interest on the accumulɛted Boxer

indemnity funds ( amounting at the moment of writing to

some £200,000), leaving the funds themselves intact.

It may be said that Meither in this case, nor in the event

of the use of the accumulated instalments themselves, which

I