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Mr Caine.
Sir T. Lloyd.
16
The questions put in Mr. Crombie's letter are searching, and the draft reply does not dispose of them altogether convincingly.
2.
1.
Do we intend to hold on to Hong Kong "as long as possible", if necessary in face of pressure? A public declaration is ruled out for the present by the Secretary of State's minute of 12th May on 54145/47. In its absence, I feel that the only satisfactory reply on this point would be if we could give the Treasury a personal assurance as from the two Secretaries of State that while it is not politic to say so publicly at the present juncture, it is definitely their policy that our position in Hong Kong should be permanently sustained. As Mr. Bevin urges us to press on as far as we possibly can, he may be willing to subscribe to such a statement for the benefit of the Treasury.
If we had to yield up Hong Kong, would the University be engulfed and cease to have any value in maintaining British influence in the Far East? If we could deal with (1) above on the lines I have indicated, then as far as (2) is concerned, cadit quaestio. The question is in any case a purely hypothetical one and he would be a bold man who would predict what would happen if the case arose.
The Secretary of State's minute, referred to above, says that he would like to discuss if there is any matter of urgency which cannot be proceeded with. The University is essentially such a matter, and I hope we may have the opportunity of discussing it, with a view to the Foreign Office being invited to endorse a reply to the Treasury on the above lines.
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19th May, 1947.
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I agree with Mr. Seel with regard to the political aspect, i.e. the future of Hong Kong. regards the point of financial priority also raised by Mr. Crombie, I am in this particular matter rather inclined to go against my general principles, and I think we are justified in pressing for an early decision as regards the University, because the possible extent of commitments for reconstruction etc. in Hong Kong and the Far East is so enormous that if we wait for a really comprehensive picture we shall probably never get anything done at all.
710
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20. 5. 47.
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