CO129-544-5 Naval Armament Depot at Stonecutters Island- postponement of payment of final instalment 25-5-1933 - 21-11-1933 — Page 19

Να SECRET.

Sir,

/19

RECEIVED

2 8 JUN 1933

C. O. REGY

GOVERNMent houSE.

HONG KONG, 25th May, 1933.

6

on

(96) on 92608/32

42779/30

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of

your secret despatch of the 19th April, 1933, transmitting a copy of a letter from the Admiralty on the subject of the question of the postponement of the payment of the final instalment of the Hong Kong Government's contribution towards

the cost of the new Naval Armament Depot at Stonecutters

Island.

2.

As pointed out in that letter the earlier arrangement

was that the final instalment should not be called for until

the Arsenal Yard and Kellett's Island were completely

evacuated and available for transfer. In my despatch of

the 4th September, 1930, I recommended that the $2,000,000

should be paid in four half-yearly instalments.

This was in accordance with the wording of the

proposal made in Sir Cecil Clementi's letter to the Commodore-

in-Charge dated the 22nd August, 1929, in which it was further

stated that the areas should be surrendered on payment of the

final instalment.

(6) m 72779/30

In my despatch of the 4th September, 1930, however, no

reference was made to this condition, and the Lords of the

Admiralty claim that this implied that this Government did not

wish to withhold the last half-yearly instalment until the

properties were evacuated. There is no record to show how this

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

SIR P. CUNLIFFE-LISTER, G.B.E., M.C., M.P.,

&C.,

&C.,

&C.

omission