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in China in its internal strifes.
In the course of conversation, the two Chinese members
of Council pointed out to Mr. Lam that since General Li had
been so good as to say that he desired the co-operation of
Hong Kong, he should, in order to demonstrate his friendship in a tangible way, have the picketing against steamers of
the Hong Kong, Canton & Macao Steamboat Co., removed forth-
with. Mr. Lam promised to bring the matter to the notice
of General Li.
Mr. Lam thought that during the past twenty-five months
no real contact had been effected between Kwongtung and Hong
Kong, and he considered it a great pity. He was sure that
the interests of the two places could be best served by
General Li confining his unofficial communications to one
channel, the two Chinese members of Council.
course use the official channel for official communications, but
he considered that better result could be achieved in many
cases if preliminary negotiations were first conducted in an un-
official way through really responsible people in Hong Kong.
He would of
Mr. Li Yau-tsun, on behalf of Mr. Li Yik-mi and himself,
said that General Li could count upon their best efforts in
promoting trade between the two places.
Mr. Kotewall, Mr. Li Yau-tsun and Mr. Li Yik-mui then
invited Mr. Lam to lunch, Sir Shouson Chow being unable to
be present owing to indisposition. During lunch nothing of
a political or business nature was discussed, but when it
was finished, Mr. Lam asked ur. Kotewall to give him an interview alone; and ir. Kotewall accordingly took him to
his private office, where the following conversation took
place.
Hir. Lam prefaced his remarks by saying that what he was
going to say was strictly private and confidential, and was
intended for Sir Shouson Chow and Mr. Kotewall only. He
then