This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be
returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.
79
From CHINA.
Decypher.
Sir M. Lampson.
D.
No. 163.
(Shanghai, on tour).
May 7th, 1930.
10.20 a.m. May 9th, 1930.
R. 9.30 a.m. May 9th, 1930.
Hongkong agreement.
I have discussed the matter with Maze and shown him informally November draft with following result.
He will let me have his considered comments in a few days (when I will telegraph again) but he could say from the outset that re-insertion of article 5 reference inland navigation omission of article reference salt and insertion of new article 10 reference privileged factory treatment for factories in Hongkong made re-draft as a whole totally un- acceptable. Article 5 had already been definitely rejected and there was not the least chance of it
Nor could being reconsidered by Chinese government. the latter possibly agree to new article 10 which
And he again would be bitterly opposed by Canton.
urged acceptance of original draft without article 5. I said that it was all a matter of finding adequate quid pro quo for Hongkong in return for allowing organ of a foreign government to function in their territory; and he agreed to consider further what minor amend- ments in November redraft were likely to be acceptable.
I finally got him to agree to consider alterna.. tive suggestion of some arrangement by which Hongkong
government
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