34 BRITONS V. GERMANS IN CHINA frequent sales from stocks, and their staff of native salesmen, clerks and other assis- tants intact.
Owing to the delay in commencing the liquidations it is not possible to say whether they were able to transfer any considerable assets to their branches in Shanghai and other Neutral Ports On the outbreak of war the Government took steps to prevent anything of this kind happening, but it is difficult to state with certainty whether these measures were completely effective.
Regarding the Singapore liquidations, these have been carried on in much the same manner as in Hongkong, but with rather more severity. It is understood, however, that in Singapore a great number of the so-called German firms were really found to be under British control, Many
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had been established years ago, and were carried on by naturalised British subjects, so that the liquidations in Singapore and the Malay Peninsula had not such a prominent aspect as those in Hongkong.
Nevertheless, the liquidators in Hong- kong would have liked a little more power given them by the Government to enable all matters to be cleared up by the end of 1915. Of course it must be realized that by reason of the huge trade done by the Germans, and by reason of the large stocks held (financed almost entirely by British banks), any attempt to enforce the comple tion of liquidations in a shorter period than one year
would have had a disastrous effect on the general trade of the Colony The native buyers of Manchester and Bradford goods would without exception have had to put up their shutters, and in many other branches of trade great distress and incon-
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