45
who, ex hypothesi, were unwilling to forego their dual
nationality, would continue to be liable for all the
duties of British citizenship unless and until they
divested themselves of their British nationality in
accordance with the British Nationality and Status of
Aliens Act 1914. Such being the case, registration is
unnecessary for the purpose of being accepted by Great
Britain as a British subject in a British possession.
15. We cannot see any reason for making any distinc-
tion between British subjects of Chinese race of the first
and those of subsequent generations. Such a distinction appears to us wrong in principle, and might be grossly
unfair in practice. The only logical theory for justifying
such a distinction must be that a British subject of a
later generation is more loyal to the British Crown than
his forebears -- a theory which is not supported by
actual experience. In our opinion the only criterion must
be, and should be, the answer to this question:
for all times and purposes, and not merely as a temporary
expedient, a subject of the British Crown?" If the
answer is in the affirmative, and if he has registered
himself as a British subject in accordance with the
arrangements suggested, then every protection should be
afforded to him by the British government in China.
"Is he,
16. We have refrained from discussing details which
seem to us to be out of place in a memorandum written with
the object of bringing out the, leading principles of this important question. The arrangements we have suggested are designed for the purpose, on the one hand, of satisfy- ing the grievance of the Chinese Government against a
certain class of Anglo-Chinese alluded to above; and, on the other hand, of placing upon a fair and satisfactory
basis