Bude,
473
16th April, 1904.
My dear Pearson,
The Foreign Office referred to me your letter
of 13th instant. I sent the following Minute. "This
difficulty has, I think, arisen in consequence of two
circumstances:-
1. Hong Kong is a Free Port and consequently
they do not keep account of whence they get their raw
sugar for refining.
2. The Laws in the French Colonies only provide
for the admission of Sugar at the lowest rates from
States which are actually Parties to the Brussels Convention, which British Crown Colonies are not.
In regard to the first point, I think the
Hong Kong Authorities ought to place themselves in a
position to prove that they do not export to Indo-China
any sugar from countries decided by the Commission to
give Bounties, which could easily be done by means of
Certificates of origin.
In regard to the second point, the French
Colonial Law seems to fail to give due effect to the
Convention.
I believe it is the case that Hong Kong imports no raw sugar from any Country as yet decided by the Commission to give Bounties; and if so, the French Colonial Authorities are not justified in committing a distinct breach of the Convention, at all events unless they can point to some reasonable probability that their