The War Office,
Whitehall,
S.W.I.
. t
092/2018 iU.0.2) SEERET. 44       July, 1939.
Your letters No: 7025/2A/39 of 19th and 30th June
•     *° Frith.    Many apologies for the delay in the reply which
is my fault and not Frith's.
2, On page 2 of your draft telegram you refer to the
recruitment of personnel for manning the fixed defences.     It is,
of course, important that personnel should not be recruited and
kept waiting for some time before training equipment can be
provided for them.     If you think there is any danger of Fiji
assuming that the instruction to make plans for recruitment
entitles them to go ahead and form the unit, perhaps you would
amend the wording to make it quite clear that action should be
limited to plans only until we see some hope of providing equipment
for training the unit.
3. We spoke about the provision of the initial equipment
for Tonga.     As the Treasury have agreed to the telegram there
seems to be no reason for us to comment on the fact that we haven't
gpt the Treasury's approval in black and white I
F.G. Lee, Esq.,
The Colonial Office,
Downing Street,
S.W.I.