TNAG-0283-FCO40-319-Exchange-of-officers-between-government-of-Hong-Kong-and-UK--1970 — Page 42

HKK 25/3

CONFIDENTIAL

3 April, 1970.

12

I am writing separately to you about the possibilities of arranging secondment between Hong Kong and the F.C.0. arising Pres out of your letter of 16 April 1969 to Arthur Galsworthy. My

letter is mainly concerned with modalities but, though I discussed the matter generally with Hugh Norman-Walker (when I was in Hong Kong and have since spoken with you about it, I have thought it as well, if only for the record, to let you have some comments on the more general points you raised in your letter.

2.

You put forward two main points in support of your proposal:

3.

(1)

(11)

that it would provide a cadre of officers with experience of dependent territories' administra- tion who would be available to man the dependent territories' desks here,and

that with the increasing difficulty of manning expatriate posts in the dependent territories we would increasingly have to rely on the metropolitan civil services to fill posts and your proposal offered a step towards this.

A

Your thinking on these points matches much with our own. On the first, as I told you, priority was given very soon after the merger of the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office to the future meaning of the Dependent Territories Division. special survey identified at least twelve officers of Counsellor rank with a background of administrative service overseas who would be available (and have been earmarked) for the posts at the head of the departments within the division and there have been a further forty or so identified who could be posted as desk- officers. On the second point we have in hand a survey in depth of the future requirements of the dependent territories themselves and the sources from which they could be met. The Diplomatic and Home Civil Services have already been noted as two of those sources and, though it is early days to anticipate the findings of the survey, I personally would not be surprised if, as time goes on, these Services were to become the main source of supply.

Sir David Trench, G.C.M.G., M.C.,

Government House,

Hong Kong.

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CONFIDENTIAL