[This Document is the Property of His Eritannic Majesty's Government, and should be
returned to the Foreign Office If not required for official use.
]
CHINA.
Decode.
bir M. Lempaon. (Pening);
April 4ta, 1927.
D.
2.00.p.m. April 4th, 1927.
No. 598.
R.
(R).
2.10.p.m. April 4th, 1927.
Your telegram ko. 135 and my telegram No. 373. Legal Commission with Mr. Gerstin as british
delegate have commenced their work. No terms of
reference having been agreed on (see my telegram No.
508) I have given Garstin the draft terms of reference
I took down to wai Chiao-pu as a guide to work on.
They are as follows: "The Commission will file a list
of the modern Chinese law courts referred to in pro-
posal number 1 (of british offer of January 28th).
The Commission will report:
A. What codes and subordinate legislation come
within ambit of proposal number 3;
E. The legal authority in each case for levy
of any taxation suggested as coming under proposal
number 4.
Any further points not covered by this which
Chinese may raise in the course of their discussions
can be considered on their merits.
One of the difficulties which has not so far been
solved is question of how far any particular law is
recognized throughout China. Garstin is assured by
his Chinese colleagues that general law is universally
applied though in certain cases variations in, for in-
stance, law of contract may have been introduced by
the more radicel sommern goverment.
137