23.
232
Hongkong fears renewal of blockade when lanking Government threatens to usurp tarifff autonomy in 1927.
Hongkong despatch No. 70 of August 13, 1927 (p. 84 in 41C 1927).
Hongkong despatch No. 71 of August 13, 1927 (p. 1 in 5M 1927).
20.
When the Manking Government were
threatening to usurp tariff autonomy in
1927, Six C. Clementi feared that this
would mean the break-up of the Customs administration, and the sinification of the service (involving the British com- missioner at Hongkong), and he began to cast around for means of dealing with this situation, which he seemed to think (though his despatches on this point were not very consistent) was aggravated by
the fact that H.M.G. would not recognise regional authorities in matters of this nature, or allow Hongkong to settle
direct with Canton. The threatened
increase of the import duties brought
to life the bogey of a revived blockade, for it seemed certain that smuggling would increase to an unprecedented ex- tent and require very stern measures of repression. Sir C. Clementi made no new suggestions, however, as to how his Government proposed to deal with the difficulty, beyond saying that, if the Chinese behaved themselves in the matter
of the Customs, he would be prepared to give formal recognition to the Chinese
Customs office in Hongkong.
Colonel
Hayley-Bell, then commissioner at Lowloon, speaking of the increase of smuggling,
laid stress of the activities of Japanese
motor-junks along the Chinese coast.
/21.