45.
254
removing a legitimate source of grie-
vance as regards smuggling, and streng-
then the value to China of the foreign -
staffed Customs administration.
c) The agreement would confer important
benefits on the entrepot and transit
trade of Hongkong.
d) The smuggling is evidently a very serious
issue, which we should do well to pro-
vide against.
e) The deletion of the salt provisions in
the last Hongkong draft may have des-
troyed one of the strongest Chinese in-
centives to make the agreement.
f) The deletion of the clause as to free
carriage of mails from Article 5 is
also of importance to the Chinese.
g) The re-draft of Article 9 omits stipu-
lations as to bonded warehouses, to
which His Majesty's Government attach
importance, and involves other substan-
tial alterations.
h) It is difficult to see how the Chinese
can be expected to grant privileged
treatment to Hongkong manufactures.
1) The restriction of inland water pri-
vileges to the two Kwang provinces is
of little account in practice, and may
only lend colour to the theory that
China is divided into regional govern-
ments.
73)