CO129-571-16 New Territories 13-4-1938 - 12-12-1938 — Page 128

tta.

SECRET.

Copy to: B. A. Shanghai.

Sir,

Zo

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONG KONG.

June 11th, 1938.

22 JUL 1958

5

In recent demi-official correspondence with

your predecessor and yourself I have suggested that the

present time may be opportune to negotiate with the

Chinese Government for the sale to the British Government

of the New Territories, the lease of which to Great

Britain will expire in 1997, or, alternatively, for an

extension of or undertaking to renew this lease at its

expiration for a considerable period. In your telegram

of May 27th you requested further information in this

connection: I now have the honour to enclose a memorandum

setting out as briefly as possible certain facts and

submissions which in my opinion prove that the retention

of most, if not all, of the leased lands is a condition

of the survival of Hong Kong as a British Colony into

the next century.

In the memorandum I have dealt only with

economic considerations: from the point of view of

defence the British-owned portion of the Colony would

be, as you are aware, quite untenable were it to be

deprived of all the contiguous mainland and the

neighbouring islands now held under lease.

With this

00096

Capy to

F.O.

w.o.

admy

1.17

B. 7.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

MALCOLM MACDONALD, P.C.,

M.P.,

&C.,

&C.,

&C.,