CO129-621-11 War damage compensation 2-4-1948 - 21-4-1948 — Page 11

55178/21A/48.

Colonial Office,

The Church House,

Great Smith Street,

S.. 1.

7th April, 1948.

Dear Marker,

Many thanks for your letter of 2nd April commenting on paragraph 10 of my draft memorandum on Hong Kong War Damage Compensation. The memorandum was intended merely for official use but I agree that it would be better to say in the memorandum exactly what the proposed defence is to be, so that the memorandum shall be self contained, rather than refer to separate documents. At the same time in view of the constitutional position, it will not be a case of H.M.G. dofending itself for not agreeing to the instituting of a compensation scheme (as is perhaps implied by the first sentence of your suggested rewɔrding) but rather His Majesty's Government defending, and agreeing with, Hong Kong that it is not necessary for the Hong Kong Government to introduce a compensation scheme. I propose therefore to amend the last two sentences of paragraph 10 of the memorandum as follows:-

The Secretary of State if challenged on Hong Kong's decision that no compensation scheme is required, could justify the decision on the grounds that Hong Kong had not instituted a statutory war risks insurance scheme before the war and that, there did not appear to be any general need to assist in the rehabilitation of commercial undertakings or of private individuals in Hong Kong as there was

.H. S. MARKER, ESQ., C. E.

e. g.