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With the abolition of Extraterritoriality, the importance British ocean tonnage and therefore to British exporters, of Hongkong as a transhipment Port, will become even greater than in the past.
The ships will enjoy efficient port services and the protection of the law, and will not be in danger of discrimina- tion, while the merchant will have safe storage for his goods and the use of efficient Britishcoastal services from Hongkong to the terminal port on the coast or even to Hankow. In view of the limitation under the treaty of cabotage rights for the British flag, the desirability of having Hongkong British is obvious, as it means that ships under the British flag can at any rate trade between Hongkong and coast ports and under special arrangements with the Chinese authorities even between coast ports.
The shipbuilding and repair establishments which before this war did work quite beyond the powers of the rest of the Empire outside Great Britain would, in the event of our giving up the Colony, at best be lost to the Empire and at worst their owners might not think it worth while even to re-start in Chinese territory under Chinese law. The absence of any such facilities between Singapore, where they were insufficient, and Japan would be a great handicap to British shipowners for whom Hongkong has been a convenient base for this kind of work.
Hongkong has for many years been an important centre of British insurance. With the different status of British insurance companies in Shanghai and China generally, which appears to be inevitable in future, Hongkong will assume first-rate importance and it may well become a British insurance centre for the whole of the Far East, thus maintaining a most valuable portion of our invisible exports.
Looking ahead, the necessity for suitable air ports is very apparent, and there is no reason why the great history of Hongkong as a shipping port should not be continued as an air port also.
As a seat of British culture, the potentialities of Hongkong are very great. The University, had it been adequately financed and controlled, could have played a far greater part in spreading British ideas than in fact it has, and if a broader vision is shown in the future, the possibilities for the Univer- sity are almost limitless. Backed by shipyards and technical establishments, it forms a first-class training centre fant
or
Chinese which can be of service to China, resul
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