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[This Decumeat it the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.
CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
208
[May 31, 1926.]
SECTION 1.
[F 2243/329/10]
No. 1.
Running Memorandum on the China Tariff Conference.
(PART VIII. MAY 31, 1926.)
Suggested Adjournment of Conference.
64. On the 18th April the chief British delegate to the Tariff Conference suggested to the Foreign Office that as the Central Government, after becoming more and more shadowy and unrepresentative, had disappeared altogether, the time seemed to be imminent for a re-examination of the situation at the conference and perhaps even for calling a halt in the negotiations. He thought, therefore, that it might be desirable to make some simple interim arrangement for the early levy of the Washington surtaxes, accompanied by a declaration by the Powers stating broadly the lines of the general settlement they would be prepared to negotiate as soon as peace and a reasonably constituted Central Government were restored, and then to adjourn the conference at least over the hot season. This course would have the advantage of allowing the provinces time to digest the wider proposals already made by the conference. On the 24th April he accordingly telegraphed the text of two draft declarations to be issued by the foreign delegations, which had been prepared by the British delegation and submitted by them privately to the Japanese and United States delegations. The first declaration explained that the dissolution of the Government had rendered further negotiation impossible, and appealed to the Chinese to sink their differences and establish a settled Government in order that negotiations might be resumed. The second declaration contained a statement of what the conference had already accomplished and of what the Powers were prepared to do.
65. The Foreign Office, while agreeing that an adjournment would be advisable if it could be achieved without the initiative coming from the British delegation, thought it undesirable to embody the aims of the conference in a public document which could be appealed to by future Chinese Governments and which would tie the hands of the foreign delegations. The whole question of the future of the conference and the possibility of an adjournment was discussed at a meeting of the foreign delegations convened by the Netherlands Minister on the 6th May. At this meeting it was agreed that if the Chinese delegation were reconstituted by the Regency Cabinet or some other form of Government the Powers would be prepared to resume negotiations for implementing the Washington Treaty and conceding the surtaxes therein provided; and that the foreign delegations should try to come to an agreement among themselves on the conditions upon which the Washington surtaxes should be granted (see paragraph_67). The question of a possible adjournment after the Washington surtaxes had been granted was left open, the Japanese delegation in particular stating that they were opposed to such a step.
66. The United States delegation urged that a statement should be drawn up of the results so far attained by the conference itself, and of the matters upon which agreement had been reached by the foreign delegations, to be communicated to the Chinese delegation on the grant of the Washington surtaxes, their object being to avert any suspicion on the part of Chinese public opinion that the Powers, having granted the Washington surtaxes, were not prepared to proceed further with the negotiation of a treaty. Objection, however, was taken to the American proposal on the ground that it might embarrass the foreign delegations later on when negotiations were resumed.
Washington Surtax Agreement.
67. On the 15th May the foreign delegations, in the absence of a Chinese delegation, provisionally accepted, subject to the approval of their Governments. the following draft agreement to bring into force article 3 and the second paragraph of article 6 of the Washington Customs Treaty-
"The conference, in the exercise of the authority vested in them by their respective Governments and for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions
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