1
Headquarters Office,
Hongkong, 12th Ausgust, 1914.
447
END
Your Excellency,
With reference to my conversation with Your Excellency and H.B.M.Consul-general at Canton, I beg that you will convey to His Majesty's Government the fact that I have pointed out that the British concession on the Shamien, Canton, is still at peace with Germany. That the German residents there are free to go and come as they like, that there is no censorship of letters or cables, that the German Post Office there is actually open though not mich used, that the German Consul is still there. I am aware that even if steps were taken to remedy this state of things it would be easy for the Germans to get letters and cables conveyed to and from the Chinese Post Offices in Canton. The same argument in a lesser degree would however apply to Hong Kong itself which is only a few mukt hours distant from Canton. If, as I am advised, a portion of the Shamien is British Terri- tory it is a puzzling anomaly that the status quo ante still
holds.
ashled home.
I most respectfully beg that my views may be
* 18
I have, etc.
F. H. KELLY
His Excellency
Bir F. H. May, K.C.M.G.,
Governor of Hongkong.
Major-General,
Commanding Troops in South China.