M.01754/34.
Sir,
SECRET
19th July
45
With reference to your letter of the
22nd June, No.083/5915(M.^.1), forwarding a copy of a
letter from Messrs. John Swire & Sons, Ltd., concerning
the piracy of the s.8. SHUNTIAN, I am commanded by My
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to acquaint you,
for the information of the Army Council, that They have
received a similar letter from the company requesting
the provision of naval or military guards for British
vessels trading between Shanghai and Tientsin, and to
transmit herewith for such observations as the Army
Council may desire to offer a draft of a letter which it
is proposed to send to the company in reply.
As regards paragraph 7 of the proposed
reply, I am to state that My Lords feel some doubt as to
whether the decision to charge the full cost of the guard
instead of merely out of pocket expenses only would be
justified if the arrangement is to be regarded as merely
a temporary one on the lines of the arrangement before
the 1st April 1930. They would be glad, however, to have
the views of the Army Council on this point.
Copies of various telegrams which have
been received concerning the provision of guarda are also
enclosed for your information.
The Under Secretary of State,
War Office,
S. V. 1.
Copies.
OAR/
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