COPY.
AT/GEN.8561.
2196
önig in 50760/42
MINISTRY OF WAR TRANSPORT,
Berkeley Square House,
Berkeley Square,
w. 1.
18
Dear Gent,
11th March, 1942.
Thank you for your letter of the 17th February (54109/41) containing a revised draft of the proposed Hongkong Order in Council. I apologise for the delay in replying but many people have had to be consulted here about the various proposals. We hotice that you agree with us that it is desirable that the functions of the Governor of Hongkong in relation to shipping should be dealt with by us and not by you and that you have amended the Order accordingly. We venture
to doubt, however, whether these amendments go quite far enough.
In the first place we suggest that 2(1)(a) should be amended so as to make it quite clear that the functions include all questions of the payment of. compensation in respect of requisitioned ships, and we suggest for this purpose that the following words should be added after "vessels" in the second line of sub-sub- paragraph (a), namely, "(including functions in connection with the payment of compensation in connection with the requisition or acquisition thereof in the exercise of emergency powers) ".
hile we think that it is inevitable that
Wpy to Sin G. Ram (23)
the Governor's liabilities as well as his functions should be transferred, our Finance Division are concerned at the idea that we should assume liability for requisitioned ships irrespective of whether they were requisitioned at our behest or purely for local reasons.
In/
G. E. J.Gent, Esq., D.S.0.0.B.E.,
E., M.C.
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