13.031008
do.
pany and Mr.
40
Ad Mr. White-Cooper re-
the whole proposal before
opinič
they all expressed the opini
Wold furnish & sound workable scheme. The
inquired whether the assent of the Colonial Office
had been obtained, and on my quoting the letter of
the 28th September, it was pointed out that the full
assent to the proposition of the Foreign Office let-
ter of the 23rd September is not to be found in it,
The assent is limited to the course which you pr
pose to adopt in connection with the necessa
in Council. I trust that the fuller assent
forthcoming when required, but, as strong opposi-
tion on the part of Hongkong layers is to be ex-
pected, it is possible that the Colonial Government
may raise difficulties later. The objection of
the Hongkong solicitors can only be based on the
loss to them of fees from keeping a registered office
for the companies whose business 16 in China, it
met with no sympathy on the part of the two business
men whom I consulted.
As
bZ