CO129-542-15 Land at Sham Shui Po- occupied by Military authorities 6-1-1933 - 31-10-1933 — Page 3

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of Hong Kong and the War Office, in accordance with

the ruling set out in paragraph 11 of the circular

despatch of the 30th December 1894 referred to

above. It is not likely, however, that the

War Office will readily agree to pay the proposed

annual rental of $125,000 and they will probably

object to paying any rental at all.

The military authorities have had the free

use of the area in question since 1927, and it is

now proposed that rental should be charged only

from the 1st January 1933. It will be noted that

the other areas which were occupied by the military

authorities under the same rent-free arrangement

racated.

have now all been posted. It is clear that

the emergency which led to the existing arrangement

is long past, as the Governor states in paragraph 4

of his despatch, and that a new agreement ought

to be concluded. It is a pity that no mention was

made in the letter of 6.5.27 from the Colonial

Secretary to the D.A.A..M.G. (enclosure No.2) of a

term being set to the arrangement therein made with

the military authorities.

It will probably be better not to refer to

any of the above considerations in our first letter

to the war Office, and subject to observations by

G.D. I suggest that we should simply

? send duplicate of 1 with enclosures to

War Office saying that an annual rental of $125,000

which the Governor proposes for the area in question

appears to the Secretary of State to be reasonable,

and he will be glad to know if the War Office

agree