CO129-624-14 Finances- relief stores- Hangover stores and Siamese free rice 1-7-1948 - 31-12-1951 — Page 102

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la

La pout

on which ľ

is presumably impossible to be

certain)

legitimately be treated as reducing the cost of that

since the latter

Administration which/was functioning in place of the Civil

Governments; and that as the net cost of the B.M.A. has been

borne as a final charge on U.K. funds, H.M.G. has in this

Hing

King manner discharged to the territory concerned its obligation

to share of the

₤181,000 related to to that territory in respect of proceeds of sale during the

Hang động

B.M.A. period.

6. As regards any part of the rice which may have been

sold after the Civil Government was re-established the

proceeds of which, subject to the further information

asked for in para. 3 above, are presumed to have been paid

over to H.M. G. as part of item C(b), somewhat different

considerations arise. It is of course impossible to

say whether or not this particular rice resulted in sales in

the period subsequent to the Military Administration period,

and any division between receipts from sale during the two

periods would have to be on a purely arbitrary basis.

Moreover it is clear that on the arbitrary basis of assessing

Hong Kong's share referred to at the end of para.4 above, any

notional credit due to the Colony has no relation to the

actual rice delivered to, and therefore sold in, that territory.

It appears that the rice was probably shipped from

Thailand from January to March 1946 and if any sales took

place during the period subsequent to 30th April, 1946 i Chen

amount

could be claimed that a decision s till remains to be taken in

as to the

to te credited to Hong Kong respect of a portion of the total amount arbitrarily

assigned as Hong Kong's share (£181,000) in relation to

وميد

The proportun which

another arbitrary assessment of the sales subsequent to

30th April, 1946. bears

Athe

the total sales.

7. I have informed you of the further aspects of this

problem to which consideration has been given subsequent to

the despatch of my savingram of 9th August 1948, in order that

you on your part may also be able to consider the matter

further prior to the forthcoming discussions.