CO129-613-1 Seminary of Dominican Fathers- Rosary Hill 7-4-1948 - 11-10-1949 — Page 97

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INFLAMATIONAL RED CROSS COMMITTEE

DALEGATION FOR HONGKONG.

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124.

General Letter No.50/47.

HONGKONG. 15th April 1947. (ailed from Shanghai 28.4.47.)

International Committee of the Red Cross,

GEN

ENGVA

Dear irs,

Hi11

Re: Payment of Danages at Rosary Hill" Red Cross Home.

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(Your Reference: 0.17/64 - 10 BAR/AU No.108)

ith further reference to your letter No.102 of 23rd December 1945, and my reply of 5th Baron 1947 (Hongkong General Letter No.47/47), I can now inform you that I have tried to affect a compromise-aettlement with the Spanish Dominican Fathers by means of a lump-sum payment of K 10,000.-- (Ten-thousand), which sum I have reason to believe would have been acceptable to the Hongkong Authorities (I spoke to r. P.5. Selwyn-Clarke,

wr. Director of euioal Services and concurrantly in charge of lief catters), wh are anxious to dispose of thi ratter. Unfortunat- ely, the Spanish Peiners could not see their way to agree to such a settlement, although I took the opportunity to point out to than that without the presence in their building of the I.8.0.C. during the war, their property would unquestionably have been completely striped of everything during the sugar of 1944, when, after the Allied landing on aipen Island, the Japanese Military dad included the "Rosary-Hill" property in their fortified "ilitary-Zone", and had requested its immediate vacuation; it was only due to my personel efforts that we were finally permitted to remein at "Rosary Hill", thereby proteoling the property from complete looting and serious structural damage, as has happened to so many other building in Hongkong •

The present position now is that the parish Fathers insist on the execution of the necessary repairs and repleoments on broad lines; actually, some portions of the "Home" have already been returned to them and the rooms in question have been white-washed at tus expense of the Hongkong Authorities. Some 20 additional rooms are now ready to be returned to the Fathers, but these rooms have not yet been white-vsshed, and are not likely to be, as the Hong-kong Authorities have their hands full with more pressing matters. The rest of the Home, which at present still accomodates 157 persons, is likely to be completely vacated by the end of June, when the question of repairs is likely to become acute.

14 MAI 1947

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