CO129-588-9 Hong Kong University- relief work 11-8-1942 - 19-11-1943 — Page 34

by you w

J

ཨ་རིག

42

•

feel that

27/2/

Thove

by

There may be ceitam

donatio's and

3:4

On the 26th August Messrs Gent, Paskin, Thorogood, Morse and Scott discussed the financial affairs of the Hong Kong University, the request from the Foreign Office at (64) for repayment from Hong Kong University funds of the amounts expended in 1943 as relief on behalf of University students now in Free China and the requests for assistance at (71) and (75) and also the formation of a Committee to advise generally on Hong Kong University affairs.

Mr.Morse explained the present sterling financial position of the University and said that he did so as Manager of the Bank which held the current account and the sterling securities of the University and that he was not an officer of the University in any way

although he had at one time been Treasurer thereof.

For

He pointed out that although he was sure the University would have every sympathy with its students who had escaped into Free China it was not liable for their maintenance whereas it had essential obligations to its staff — example, salaries and provident fund members of the staff who were interned or P.0.W.- and to the families of some of the staff who had been evacuated from Hong Kong. He was able to give an estimate of such liabilities in respect of salaries and to a lesser extent regarding the provident fund as far as European members were concerned. There would of course also be liabilities to the Chinese staff of which he had no account. At the moment assets and known liabilities approximately balanced but there was no doubt that

by the end of the year liabilities would exceed whatever was likely to be available then.

Mr.Scott