CO129-570-3 Sino-Japanese War- proposed refugee camp in demilitarised area of South China 1-6-1938 - 11-1-1939 — Page 79

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buildings to relieve the Tung Wah Hospitals of refugee destitutes: they are gravely overcrowded,

to the detriment of patients.

If the war continues into next winter i may have to put up a big camp in the New Territories. During the summer months people in crowded tenements often sleep by choice in the streets and last month

some 25,000 were counted on one night doing so. The Anglican Bishop is preparing a scheme

which aims at providing cheap lodging for refugees who can subsist themselves but cannot

afford high rents. He wants Government help:

but I am not sure of the extent to which the

Hong Kong taxpayer should be fleeced on account

of this class.

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Generally speaking as you may have guessed

from the foregoing the situation set up locally by refugeeism is somewhat obscure: for that reason 1 have ordered a one-man investigation by one of

the junior cadet officers and I hope that his report will throw some light upon it.

Yours sincerely,

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