F
1..
The Under Secretary of State for the Colonies. Colonial Office.
-3-
1. 3. 1916.
165
are in all cases, for Customers whose names have been
subirdtted to, and approved by the Foreign office.
Al80
all these articles, and they are many, which are "prohibited", are always shipped, as far as they are approved of, under
a Licence from the war Trade Department, so that the
position 13, after having fulfilled all the conditions laid
down by the Home Government, the continuation of our business with an important part of China, must for the greater part be stopped by the sudden additional precautions imposed by the Hong Kong Authorities, on goods which have hitherto been allowed to remain in the go-downs there,
pending transhipment to Port of destination.
I should like to add the following facts:-
We have been cultivating sucessfully, our trade with China for the last fifty years.
Our Governing Director has himself paid two visits to the Country end to each of the principal centres of the trade, and we keep at
heavy cost, a travelling representative there all the year
round.
The sudden stoppage of our goods for an unknown