48
(15) on '47 file.
involved.
Allen in his report
paragraph 5 (e) sugests as a basis that
the Hong Kong Government should bear
35% and the United Kingdom Service
Departments 65. The Service Departments
would, I imagine, be against making
contributions on that basis.
Nevertheless
if we take the maximum amount of the
claims as $25 million - see paragraph 5 (a)-
or say £1 million, then we must
consider to what extent Hong Kong has
already received any assistance towards
meeting this type of claim from His
Majesty's Government in the form of the
free grant of £1 million. That grant
was not specifically related to any
particular liabilities, but was intended
to assist the Hong Kong Government in
dealing with many items of expenditure
which that Government considered as
morally the responsibility of His
Majesty's Government. In my letter to
Serpell of the 2nd March 1948 I enclosed
a schedule of the various liabilities which
the Hong Kong Government considered
should rest on His Majesty's Government
amounting in total to £5 millions which
included £1 millions in respect of
denial claims. In fact, the Treasury
at first did not agree to give any
assistance in respect of that total of
£5 millions, but eventually a grant of
£1 million was agreed to at the last
moment,
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