CO129-624-14 Finances- relief stores- Hangover stores and Siamese free rice 1-7-1948 - 31-12-1951 — Page 81

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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 paragraph 3. above, are presumed to have been paid over to His Majesty's Government as part of item C(b), you might wish to contend that different considerations arise. It is, of course, impossible to say whether or no this particular rige resulted in sales in the period subsequent to the Military Administration period, and any division$ between receipts of sales 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 paragraph 4 above, in a notional credit due to the Colony is 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 larch, 1946 and if any sales took place during the period subsequent to the 30th April, 1946 (a point on which it is presumably impossible to be certain), then a decision still remains to be taken as to whether an amount should be credited to Hong Kong in respect of a portion of the total amount arbitrarily assigned as Hong Kong's share (£181,000) in relation to another arbitrary assessment of the proportion which the sales subsequent to the 30th April, 1946 bears to total sales.

CYou will appreciate that this question is very much Iversion agreed bound up with the question of "hangover" stores, since both

with Mr Mams

Арма of the

related to the question of liability or of credit for goods ordered by Military Government and delivered to Civil Government.

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