2
Mr. Sidebotham said that he had sounded Sir Charles Jeffries
who considered that the Treasury would not look at such a grant from
the C & M.3.S. vote. Trade with America was bad and our dollar deficit
was growing all the time. He doubted very much whether the Treasury
would be prepared to make any further contribution at this time.
Sir Man Kam Lo said he wished to make two points :
(i) Hong Kong always felt that she is the Cinderella and is always
being left out. H.M.G. appeared to be doing far more for other
colonies than for Hong Kong, e.g. Malaya, and
(ii) this was not a question of whether the University should be
Hong Kong had a University but it could not
established.
carry on its activities as recommended in the report of
Mr. Adams and Dr. Mouat Jones unless it had an endowment fund.
In any case, whether H.M.G. contributed or not Hong Kong still
has to provide money for the University and he hoped that with
Sir A. Morse's help this might be raised. The continuance of
the University was a question of British prestige and it would
be terrible if it's activities had to be reduced.
Colonel Ride agreed with everything that Sir Man Kam Low had
said.
He had been amazed to see the savingram as when he left Hong
Kong he was under the impression that something would be done. He
said that H.M.G. had done little for the University except to found it.
The University was the only place which permitted free speech and free
thought in the whole of East Asia. During his visit to the United
Kingdom he had been horrified to find that the attitude of people here
appeared to be that there was not much to be gained from hanging on to
Hong Kong.
Mr. Sidebotham pointed out that we had not yet approached the
Treasury and, therefore, could not say that the Treasury had turned
down the proposal though our own feeling was that it would meet
considerable opposition. We ourselves were extremely anxious to
get an endowment fund established.
lir. Adams said that when the question of the reopening of the
University was under consideration it had been pointed out that
/unless
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