PART II - Recommendations of Delegation

• Author: Chamberlam, Austen
• Pages: 12

PART II -RECOMMENDATIONS OF DELEGATION

I -ADMNISTBATION AD CONTBOL OF FuND (1 Board of Trustees 34 The proposals under this head made by the Delegation are set out on pp 159-161 of their Report The main proposal is as follows (1 -I 1 In ordei that the object of His Britannic Majesty's Government in returning the balance of the China Indemnity to the Chmese people may be most effectively and conveniently earned out, a Board of Trustees for the China Indemmtv Fund shall be established in China, to which the control and administration of the said fund shall be entrusted 2 As soon as the said Board of Trustees is organised the present Advisory Committee shall be dissolved (2 )-VI 1 The Board shall have complete power to apply the Indemnity Fund to such educational and other purposes and to make such investments for the perpetuation of the fund as the Board may from time to time determine i accordance with the general scheme and princples laid down by the Advisory Committee 2 For the purpose of advising and assisting the Board m making specific grants and m studying and executing specific projects, sub-committees may be formed, and competent persons outside the Board may be engaged to serve on such sub-committees (8 — VIII 1 After the end of each financial year, the Board shall cause to be prepared a report of the receipts and expenditure i that year m respect of the China Indemnity Fund A copy of this report shall be submitted to each of the Governments of Chma and Great Britain 2 The Governments of Great Britain and China may each send an observer to attend the meefings of the Board of Trustees 85 This proposal was communicated from China by the Chairman of the Delegation on their behalf to Lord Buxton with a request for urgent consideration The Delegaton emphsised the proposal as one whieh would meet the Chinese point of vew, and would remove any suspicon that existed that the money would not be expended for the benefit of Chmia, while its adoption would greatly facihtate the work of the Delegatin by makin it clear that

the funds would be administered by a body m China imbued with Chinese views, and not m England under a Committee largely British in complexion and outlook 86 The members of the Advisory Committee m England at once met and endorsed the proposal, and the Chairman communicated with the Secretary of State 87 He was thereupon authorised to send the following telegram to Lord Wilhngdon 'The Secretary of State is anxious to demonstrate British goodwill to, and trust m the Chmese nation as a whole He therefore authorises me to state that, if the Delegation unanimously report m the sense of paragraphs I, VI (1) and VIII (1) of the draft plan (given above),* and if subsequently the Advisory Committee endorse these proposals, he would be prepared to accept the principle involved, but he feels that it must be made clear that this change would render necessary the amendment of the Act, in order to enable the Secretary of State to carry out the proposal, and that his assent must therefore be expressed as subject to the approval of Parliament, which he will do his best to secure ' 88 The Delegation expressed their appreciation to the Secretary of State for his generous agreement m their views and to the Advisory Committee for their prompt co-operation, which very greatly facilitated their work ( ) The Advisory Committee have already endorsed ths proposal, and also desire to express their appreciatton of the action taken by the Secretary of State (# ) The adoption of the proposal in regard to the Board of Trustees will (as the Secretary of State points out) involve the introduction and passing of an amending Act, which may cause a certain delay 89 The proposed constitution, personnel and appointment of the members of the Board of Trustees are set out in detail on pp 159-161 of the Delegation's Report, and may be summarised as follows The Board shall consist of eleven members-six Chineee and five Brtash At least one shall be a woman. All members shall be appointed m the first instance by the Chinese Government after consultation and m agreement with His Majesty's Government Four members shall be appointed for one year, four for two years, and three for three years, the length of the term of office shall be decided by lot After the first term the term of office shall be three years for all members Vacancies occurring after the first regular meeting shall be filled by a vote of not less than seven members The Board shall elect its own chairman by a vote of not less than eein members. He shall serve for three years, he may be either hinese or British * See paragraph 84

The proportion of Chinese and British members shall be maintained until 1945, when the Board shall have power, if it sees fit to replace any or all of the British by Chinese members All members shall be eligible for re-election For administrative purposes an Executive Committee of five shall be formed two British and three Chinese (i ) The Adi tsoty Committee unanimously agree with these proposals (n ) In their opinion, if a Board of Trustees, as proposed, is appointed, it is essential, mi order to secure confidence and co-operation, that the majority should be Chinese, and they trust that the u idest range of representation possible will be obtained on the Board (in ) In the opnion of the Advisory Committee, the Chairman of the Executive Committee should be expected to devote the whole of his time to the work he should be paid an adequate salary, and the Committee should be provided with the necessary staff (2 ) Interpretation of Clause VI (above) * 40 The Delegation state that the proposals they make in legard to the funds to be applied at once for educational, medical and other purposes (as mentioned below in paragraph 44) are to be considered more by way of suggestion than mandatory, and that discretion of selection between the various proposals along the general lines proposed should be left to the Board of Trustees 41 The Delegation lay down (p 107) certain heads of expenditure and give the percentages of the amount of the money available that they suggest should be spent under each head They advise that these percentages be taken by the Board of Trustees as intended for their general guidance, but they consider that the Board should not be debarred from transferring a portion of the money available for expenditure under one head to one of the other heads named, if the Board consider such transfer desirable in the best interests of the Chinese people (p 168) 42 The Delegation also decided (pp 129 188, &c ) that they would not themselves attempt to allocate any portion of the Indemnity Fund to individual Institutions whether educational, medical, or other, and propose that the allocation should be left entirely to the judgment and discretion of the Board of Trustees Their own task they state, was ' simply to decide upon the general principle of distribution, and to leave to the Board of Trustees full power to determine individual allocations ' (i ) The Advisory Committee endorse this view These proposals throw a great responsilstty on the Board of Trustees mi the matter of selection, but they wmU possess and acqwure nformaton and experience which the Advisory Committee have not got at their disposal * See paragraph M

(n ) As regards the expenditure of the Investment Fund (referred to below), the proposals of the Delegation and the method of its applicaton are set out in paragraphs 45-46, and the recommendatons of the Advisory Committee follou after paragraph 46

II -DIvIsio-O OF FUND (pp 60, 162, 163, &c ) 48 The Delegation propose that the whole of the funds, some eleven millions m all, should be utilised for the various educational and other objects which are considered worthy of support, as detailed below, and that bv means of an endowment, provision should be made for carrying on the work thus initiated, after the Indemnity payments have come to an end m 1945 They therefore consider that the total fund should be divided into two parts (a) as annual income for immediate...