THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT.
CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[F 6549/1774/10]
No. 1.
December 12, 1929.
SECTION 3.
Sir M. Lampson to Mr. A. Henderson.-(Received December 12.)
(No. 1542.)
HIS Majesty's Minister, Peking, presents his compliments to His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and transmits herewith copy of despatch No. 293 from His Majesty's consul-general, Shanghai, dated the 3rd October, respecting the agitation for the abrogation of inland water navigation privileges held by foreign shipping.
Peking, October 23, 1929.
(No. 293.) Sir,
Enclosure in No. 1.
Consul-General Garstin to Sir M. Lampson.
Shanghai, October 3, 1929.
WITH reference to my despatch No. 247, paragraphs 2 and 3, of the ? 24th August, I have the honour to report that an agitation is being kept up in the local Chinese press and elsewhere for the so-called resumption of China's navigational rights. It will be remembered that over a year ago, during the Communications Conference at Nanking, the Chinese National Amalgamated Chambers of Commerce put forward proposals for recovering control of navigation on inland waters (see my telegram No. 198 of the 12th August, 1928). It was suggested that the treaty provisions on which this right was based should be abrogated. This question has since been mooted from time to time in the Chinese press, but it would seem that it is only within the last month or two that it has been taken up seriously with the National Government.
2. On the 7th August last, the Central Political Council at Nanking discussed the question, and the Kuomin News Agency announced that the Legislative Yuan would be instructed to draft a navigation law defining the scope of shipping rights and abrogating the privilege of inland navigation heretofore enjoyed by foreign shipping. Shortly afterwards, the managing director of the China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company, in an interview with a representative of a local Chinese newspaper, made the statements reported in my despatch under reference. A leading article on this subject, which appeared in the "North China Daily News" of the 23rd August, is enclosed herein for facility of reference.* The cry for the resumption of Chinese navigational rights was soon taken up by the Chinese public, and even the sinking of the China Merchants' steamship "Hsin Kong in a collision with the Nippon Yusen Kaisha's steamship "Tatsuma Maru" off the Shantung promontory on the 21st July was made the occasion for passing a resolution urging the Government to continue fighting for the abrogation of unequal treaties. On the 9th September, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. C. T. Wang, interviewed two representatives (Messrs. Liu Shih-sun and Ch'en Po-kang) of the committee or association formed for the resumption of navigational rights, at the Shanghai office of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The interviewers asked Dr. Wang, with special reference to the forthcoming negotiation of a new commercial treaty with Japan, what the views of the Chinese Government were in regard to revising the treaties so as to resume Chinese rights in the navigation of coastal and inland waters. Dr. Wang replied that the right of foreign vessels to ply coastwise and on inland waters in China was indeed an unfair provision of unequal treaties, and that the Government would naturally carry out the principle of complete resumption of navigational rights. For his own part he would, of course, abide by and give firm expression to the Government's policy. Let his interviewers assure the shipping interests concerned that they need have no anxiety on that score. Messrs. Liu and Ch'en observed that Dr. Wang's statement was auspicious for the
* Not printed.
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