My dear Lampson,
1st November, 1929.
Your letter of the 4th October reached
me when I returned to Hong Kong on the 28th October.
I did not, as you seem to think, wire to the Colonial
Office about periodical visits, though I had wired
urging a visit from you on the specific question of
the Draft Commercial Treaty, but I wrote in a confi-
dential despatch to the Secretary of State, dated the
31st May last, as follows:
"In my opinion, British interests in
China suffer severely from the fact that the principal
authorities concerned, namely, His Majesty's Minister
at Peking, the Naval Commander-in-Chief, the General
officer, China Command, and the Governor of Hong Kong,
seldom have an opportunity of conferring together in
person. It often happens that the Naval Commander-in-
Chief, the General officer, China Command, whose head-
quarters are now in Hong Kong, and the Governor of
Hong Kong can confer together, especially during the
winter months, when most of His Majesty's ships are us
a rule in Hong Kong; but it very seldom happens that
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