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make a complete concession of tariff autonomy at once and, as soon as practicable, to consider modifications in the excessive rights and privileges which have accrued
to foreigners under the extra-territorial regime", adding that "the only purpose for which His Majesty's Government.
and the other Powers would actually use force would be to
protect British and foreign lives and to defend foreign
concessions and settlements from attack. On this there
cannot, and must not, be any hesitation" (Foreign Office
telegram to Peking No. 8).
42. At Hankow on the 10th December Mr. Lampson had a long, informal talk with Comrade Ch'ên, during which
incidentally they touched upon the question of the Cus- toms surtaxes. Mr. Lampson put to Comrade Ch'ên as strongly as possible the advantages of collection by the
Customs and told him quite frankly that British policy
was aiming at the immediate unconditional grant to China
as a whole of the Washington surtaxes. But Comrade Ch'ên.
while volunteering the statement that his Government had
every desire to preserve the Canton administration, re-
marked wryly that our policy would place the northern
militarists in funds. (Hankow telegram to Foreign Office
No. 7 of the 11th December). The mattor was put in a nutshell by Mr. O'Malley who said: "As soon as Shanghai,
where 43% of the Customs revenue is collected, falls
definitely to the North or to the South, the successful
perty will no doubt become the champion of the uncondi-- tional grant of the surtaxes" (Peking telegram to Forcin Office, dated the 14th December).
43.
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