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(e) In any event, the case is not one in which the
Governor could properly give a bald and definite
statement.
2.
I then proceeded to sugest for the Consul
General's consideration the question of what certificate the
Governor could properly give. He suggests one to the effect
that "His lajesty's Government recognises (Li Chai-sum) as the
officer administering a provincial government of the republic
of China, for the purpose of carrying out the treaties between Great Britain and China". without rejecting the proposed
certificate altogether it may be pointed out that there are the
following difficulties in it, one political and two legal:
(a) The Secretary of state might well object to it on
the old recognition ground. It sooms to go the
whole way in regional recognition.
(b) It adds a qualification to the words of the
Ordinance.
It would have been otherwise if it
had stopped at the word "China". It would be
argued that the point under the ordinance is whether
the officer is recognized generally and without
qualification, and not whether he is recognized for a certain limited purpose.
(c) It might also be argued that, at least in theory,
government at Canton is by committee, and that the
chairman of the committee which governs cannot
himself be said to govern.
3.
The very recent case of usmann v. ingelke, reported in the Weekly Notes for the 9th July, 19.7 at page
205, now raises doubts as to whether the certificate would be
even admissible. The defendant in that case claimed immunity
from judicial process in consequence of his position on the
staff