سياسي خارجي ٤٩/٨٠٧٨ "زيارة سفن البحرية الهندية الملكية إلى موانئ شرق إفريقيا، سيشل، وموريشيوس، وعدن" [و‎‎٣‎٠] (١١١/٦٠)

/1,
all members of the Comnonwealth must take their share
in preserving peace and that in war an essential part
of the duties of the Navy was the protection of trade
routes which should be the duty of the R.I.N. in these
parts so as to release the R.N. for duties elsewhere.
There were no awkward incidents over hotels or clubs
as far as I know or have heard. There is a sidelight
on this though. I am told that the Daily Express
published an article saying that the Mombasa Club
refused to allow them in (I have not seen it) and
added some acid comment. In point of fact that Club
was never asked because it was thought best not to
create an awkward situation. From what I hear it is
not impossible that if they had been approached the
Club might have agreed. The local correspondent of
the Daily Express has sent a heated denial of the
offending article.
5. You ask for suggestions for future occasions of a
similar kind. That is rather a difficult question to answer.
Thinking it over I really think what we dia this time is as
good a solution as any. I would say that the two most
important things are to give a big official reception on
oorea witn only visiting ports. I think too that it is as
well to keep them very fully occupied. Fortunately this
arranges itself because outside official functions the local
Indian will arrange so many parties that we need not worry.
Personally I feel that this is unkind to the R.I.N. but it
does give us the buffer which will stop any awkward incidents.
I think that personal contacts and entertainment with the
officers will be spontaneous.
b. One is always prone to be slightly apprehensive of
the unknown and India's recent actions and our dealings
with the local variety did I think worry us. In the event
we found a crowd of officers and men, most of whom were
wearing ribbons, with a very definite R.N. tradition. Many
of them had been trained in and had served in the R.N. and it
certainly seemed to me that this meant more to them than
fraternising with their own kind in East Africa. I should like
to emphasise a remark I made J.n a personal letter to His
Excellency - that the behaviour and appearance of the Ratings
was always exemplary.
7. • I trust that you will show this letter to Rankine
as he originally wrote to Davies and me but the d.o.
corresponsenee nas been with you since. In conclusion I
would like to say that the visit has been a success and that
it has been due almost entirely to the efforts of Davies,
R.S.Campbell and Commander Codrington Ball. I hope that the
Government will send a letter of appreciation to the last two
for quite frankly it was the Europeans who were responsible
for the success of the visit of tne R.I.N. and not Lhe
Indians with whom I had continual petty squabbles which are
not worth mentioning.
Yours sinccerely,
(Signed) A.C.M.Mullins,
A.P.Le Mesurier Esq.,
The Secretariat,
Nairobi.