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(Enclosure 2.)
MOTION.
It is the opinion of this Council that it is in the best interest of the Colony of Hong- kong that persons of German nationality should be excluded therefrom for a period of at least 10 years following the declaration of peace; and that, subsequently, they he only admitted into the Colony under strict licence.
(Enclosure 6.)
4721:06 C.S.0.
Minute by the Attorney General.
Hon. Colonial Secretary.
1. The proposals of the Chamber of Commerce are as follows :—
(r.)
British" traders to insure only with "British" companies.
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(b.) "British" companies to reinsure only with "British" companies.h
e) "British" Insurance Companies to employ only "British" agents in British
territory.
(d) A tax to be imposed on all premia collected by "foreign" companies in
British territory.
(c.) The books of all "foreign" insurance companies to be open to inspection
by "properly appointed" auditors and to be kept in English.
2. The proposals are not as definite as they might be. For instance, the term "British" seems to be used in four different senses. I suppose that "British traders' means traders in British territory. In the former part of (b) “ British " means, I suppose. companies incorporated under the law of some part of His Majesty's dominions. In the latter part of (6) and in (e) “British companies "must mean companies in the constitution of which there is some security against alien control. The nature and extent of this security is not defined. The term cannot mean companies incorporated in British territory, because companies incorporated abroad might then be able to evade the law by forming subsidiary companies. "British agents" must include (a) British subjects, (b) firms of some undefined degree of British subject composition, and (e) companies in the com- position of which there is some undefined degree of British subject control. The term
foreign companies" is also ambiguous, as it is not clear whether the reference is to the place of incorporation or to the fact of alien control. "Properly appointed auditors also rather vague, It is not clear whether any of the proposals refer to life insurance.
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3. Attempts to define the conditions of non-alien control can be found in the following enactments :--
(a.) The China (Companies) Order in Council, 1915: see the 1915 volume of
Orders in Council, p. 183.
b.) The British Ships (Transfer Restriction) Act, 1916, 6 and 7 Geo. 5, c. 42. (c) The Nigerian draft Ordinance which is in C.S.O. 4 in 3435/16.
(7.) The Straits Settlements Alien Enemies Winding up Ordinance, 1917, Ordi-
nance No. 0 of 1917.
4. Two questions suggest themselves. One is whether Hongkong should adopt the proposed policy without regard to other parts of the Empire. The other is whether Hongkong should recommend the policy for the Empire and should be prepared to adhere to it if adopted in other parts of the Empire.
5. Hongkong seems too small to adopt the policy alone, though the volume of insurance business here may be very large for the size of the Colony. For one thing, it might drive a good deal of marine insurance business elsewhere. Proposal (e) would probably be outside the power of local legislation to effect. The objection to the pro- posals as an Imperial policy applies also to the special case of Hongkong. In the case of marine insurance there is also the special objection that it might lead to exports of Chinese produce being insured at Canton.