3
22
"suitable for the purposes of this Bank", which is
"a suggested form for a Bank. (viz. Palmer 13th Ed.
"p.510)."
The Bank would, however, for the above reasons
prefer to retain this Clause as originally drawm.
The Bank are quite agreeable to subsection (6)
of Clause 3 being amended as suggested by the Board of Trade,
namely, by deleting the word "maintain" in the first line and
by inserting the word "undertake" after the word "improve"
in the first line and by the insertion of the words "business
or" after the word "eny" in the second line.
With regard to paragraph 3 (c) of the Treasury
letter, the Bank are of opinion that it is most desirable that
subsections 13 and 14 of Regulation 3 should be retained. They
instruct us to point out that there are no "special relations"
existing between the Bank and the Government of Hong Kong
excepting only that they are the Government's Bankers. The
clauses are designed, not with a view to acquiring franchises
etc., from the Hong Kong Government, but with regard to the
exceptional situation in China. It must be borne in mind
that the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation represent
the British Group of the Consortium and are also joint agents
in China for the British and Chinese Corporation and further
that, when anything approaching stability obtains in China,
reconstruction and the development of the resources of the country can only take place with the assistance of foreign
capital.
Should the Bank at any time hereafter be
invited to assist in such reconstruction it would be necessary
for them for the purpose of securing advances which they might
make to obtain securities and safeguards of the nature
indicated in subsections (13) and (14).
Subsection