CO129-586-6 Administration of the port of Hong Kong 27-1-1940 - 24-7-1940 — Page 89

1387

4, MILLBANK,

WESTMINSTER,

LONDON, S. W. 1.

(ABBEY 7730)

My dear Burns,

28th February, 1940.

Before I got your letter of the 23rd (53995/40) we

had in mind Sir George Trimmer, the late General Manager of

the Singapore Harbour Board, as a possible man for the

Hong Kong enquiry. But there could be no question of his

working as Sir David Owen's assistant, and I am not sure, indeed,

how they would get on as associates.

We have no knowledge of Mr. Binns, but the fact that

he was Chief Engineer to the Port of London Authority shows

that he is qualified to advise on dock engineering which

however is not quite the same as harbour engineering.

But it is possible that there may be new construction

to be done as a result of Sir David Owen's visit, and in such

a case the responsibility for advising on the design and

Sir Alan Burns, K.C.M.G.