2.
102
",
contravenes the principles agreed upon at Canton by including the words "Appointed by the Canton Government" which do not occur in the English version, which (if added)
would make the appointment purely political, give the Canton Government full authority to appoint, and ignore any question
of approval from Hong Kong. The words would also cause great
offence to the Peking Government and would affirm the
division of China into regional governments in a manner not
yet recognised by His Majesty's Government, nor (as I under- stand fran a recent speech of Mr. Chu) desired by Canton.
4. I wish to have it quite clearly understood
that I cannot agree to anything in the nature of a political
appointment, but that I am prepared to go to the length of
affording the Canton Government an opportunity of nominating
for consideration a gentleman whose interests will be entire-
ly commercial and whose position would be properly described
by the title
Any further concession would suggest participation by the Hong Kong Government in the political struggles of China: a position into which it is quite impossible for me to allow
myself to be drawn.
5.
I have therefore to ask you to be good enough to request the Canton Authorities in the first place to agree to the Chinese version of the title of the Commercial Agent as I have set it out, and to nominate on behalf of the Canton Government a gentleman of known commercial ability whose appointment I should be justified in approving on commercial ground alone, and against whose appointment no objection could be sustained by reason of his political
The unsatisfactory nature of the present
sympathies.