Memorandum.
Hong song Bar Damage Compensation.
When the question of setting up Claims Comiss ons in the Far E. tem Colonial territories was under consideration in 1945, it was anvisaged that there would be one Commissioner from this country ( an official loaned from the Board of Trace) with a deputy in each territory, thus ensuring a common policy being followed in the reports which would be submitted to the respective Governments. Unfortunately the official in question was unable to proceed abroad ovin; to sickness and alternative arrange suits had to be made at short notice. In the case of Hong Kong the services of an lasurance Company officer ( Hr. Matheson ) were obtained through the ood of icos of the Board of Trade, but the procedur: follo ved by him, with the aprov 1 of the Hong Kong Government, differed from that followed by the Comissioner in "alaya..
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In Kalaya a fresh fom.. of claim was devised ani public anaouoements made inviting every claimant to resubmit his claim on the new for, so that the Commission could vot in as complete and üetalled appreciation of the problem as possible. The Hong Kong Commissioner based his exw\ination of the problem on claims which had already been submitted during the war to the United Kingdom Trading with the Enery Department (who acted as a registration authority on behalf of the Colones concerned }, and on clains which haû been submitted to the Hong Kong, Governant after liberation in connective. with a reparations investigation. It is not of co rse, contanded that an examination on the basis of such claims, which were inevitably less accuratoly dram up than those submitted to the Malayan Commission, would affect the decision ultimately taken by the Hong Kong Goverment as to payment of compensation, but it is indicative to some extent of the belief of the Hong; un Govern ent that it was unlikely, whatever the result of the examination, any compensation would be paid.
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2. As a result of his examination of clais, the Camissioner estimated that the total claims amounted to about 25 millions on the basis of 1941 values. Of that amount, about 10 millions was in respect of comerʊial gouds and in this connection it must be borne in mind that Hong Kong after the commencement of the war, unlike alaya, did not institute an insurance scheme covering war risks to commercial goods.
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The Commissioner as a result of his consideration of the situation in Hong Kong since liberation, es of the opinion that a general scheme of compensation should not be inauguratod. In sup ort of his opinion he Ounted out:-
PRODUCôn
(1) Rehabilitation of Industry and Commerce was not being held up by lack of financial Peco but by scarcity of materials.
(ii) Firms since liberation have generally speaking, profited by large turnovers and higher profit margins enabling them to pay higher divide ds even aïter writing off war losses; and share prices were higher than before the war. consequence any compensation paid would simply be an additional return to
shareholders.
(iii) Owing to the great demand for land and buildings since the liberation, even damaged property could be sold at a higher price than before the war. Much rehabilitation had already been done and lack of fyús diú not appear to be hindering rehabilitation.
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(4) As regards Private Chattels, certain claimants had already received payments from United Kingdom. funds e.., from War Office, admiralty, and from the Boarā of Trade in the case of ersons ho had ean interned and who intended to remain in the United Kingcom.( The question of extending the Board of Trade scheme to all those residing in this country who do not intend to return to the Far East, irrespective of whether they were interned or nit, .s uker consideration. 26 As regards claimants in Hong Kong, the Camissioner considers that there la little expectation of payment of compensation and it would be very difficult after this lapse of time to prove ownerships of chattuls in many cuses. On balance therefore, he does not recomend compensation for the loss of chattels.
5. In the case of agricultural losses in the New Territories the Commissione felt that Government had already done much to improve the lot of the claimants v that individual sums of compensation were less desirable than an organised scheme of communal betterment.
16. The
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