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a statement of the invoiced costs of the supplies in question. Treasury replied on 27th June, 1947, that they could not accept the Colonial Office interpretation of the liability of the Colonial Jovernments for these atores being confined to payments from 1...C. of receipts from sales. The full invoiced cost should be accepted und in any communication to the Colonies the Colonial Office "should take a more categorical view of the liability of the local Govern- ments" than was suggested by the rather tentutive request which Colonial Office had agreed to in their letter of 13th Murch, 1947. Treasury agreed, however, thut the first step must be for War Office to draw up a etutement of the invoice cost of supplies in question.
No information on A copy of their letter was sent to the Tur Office. the lines suggested by the Treasury was ever received from the War office. No further action was taken úntil the Treasury discussed the matter informally with Colonial office and the Malayan Union Finan- cial Secretary (Mr. Godsull) when the latter was on an official visit to this country in December, 1947. No progress was, however, made at that alscussion.
9. The matter came before the ublic Accounts Committee in July, 194′ (55397/48) und the Comittee expressed the hope that Treasury and Colonial Office wouâd use every effort to secure a settlement with the assisted Colonies (on this and other matters) which would have due regard to their ability to pay. The Treasury, as a result, wrote to the Colonial Orfice that they shared the desire or the Committee that settlements should be reached as soon as possible with the severul Colonies concerned and asked to be furnished with a report showing progress made in urriving at such a settlement. In reply the Colonial Office after smuri ing precious correspondence on the subject, stated that, in view of the Burma precedent they did not consider there was any govi ense for asking the Colonial Governments to gree to any departure from the original provisional arrangement whereby the Colonial Governments paid over receipts from sales of stores (Colonial Office to Treasury, 17.2.48 - 55397/48).
10. It would in ret be impossible to say exactly what was the cost of the goods in ucation. The traiv. 1 of roode on the Wur Orrice programme ovellapped with the arrival or those on the Colonial Office programme; recei, ts from sules of both occurred not only during the military naministration periods thus being credited to the ur Office; but also subsequent thereto being credited to the Colonial Governments. Colonial Governments have attempted to estimate the amount of the sums received by them in respect of r Office stores and have paid these suns over to 11.2.0. but no exuct sums can be ascertained. Apart fou the confusion of overlapping of urrivals of stores on the two Progrɛmes, it would be impossible to say what stores was received by e.g. the Malayan Union nd what by 3inga ore. Losses also incurred through sales under cost price (food) and through inch of .... Jully equippen orain tion to deal with, and account for, stores. Many of the stores proved to be unsuit le or arrived in an incomplete stote and were thus useless. It night of course, be possible to identify certain large individual items such as motor buses or railway engines, which were not sold and for which therefore H.MG has received no sums, but bulk supplies, such LE Lood, ironmongery, to tools, etc., it would be impossible to say on which programme they were purchased, or who had received them. All this points to un impossibility of arriving at any exact "bill" for the goods in question,
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