is Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned to the Foreign Office when done with unless required for official use.]
C →
35457
Beet
86
fes 215
(95684/15).
CHINA.
TRADE AND TREATY.
Cypher telegram to Sir J. Jordan (Peking).
Foreign Office, July 16th 1915, 11.25 p.m.
No. 128.
Your telegram No. 167 (of July 8th: Trading with
the enemy in China).
His Majesty's Judge's interpretation of the
intention of the recent Proclamation is generally
speaking correct, but as regards your suggestion
to issue simultaneously with the King's Regulations
instructions to His Majesty's Consuls explaining the
xemptions from the operation of the Regulations, I
hink it would be preferable to embody the sense of
the instructions which you propose in one or more
General Licences which could be published for general
information. A precedent for such general licence
will be found on page 383 of the Manual of Emergency
Legislation, copy of which was sent to His Majesty's Consul-General at Shanghai in March last.
In drawing up such licences it is important that you should not include contracts of employment other than those of a purely domestic nature between British and enemy subjects. Other contracts of employment should only be permitted by special licences granted after consideration of each case, as it is essential not to facilitate in any way the continuance of the practice by British Companies of employing enemy agents and representatives in the conduct of therr business. This point could be explained to His Majesty's Consular officers.
As the General Licences above proposed may take some days to prepare there is no objection whatever to your issuing the King's Regulation forthwith as sug- gested in your telegram No. 168 of July 12th.
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