32
11
52710/18 (916
letter No. F 3311/738/10 of the 15th July. Sir C. Clementi
has however now put forward yet another set of proposals for
dealing with the question of dual nationality based this time
on the Sino-Dutch Agreement of 1911. This agreement however
has already been fully considered in the Memorandum enclosed
in Foreign Office letter No. F 560/112/10 of February 20th,
1928, and in the previous correspondence forming part of the
correspondence referred to above. Mr. Henderson hopes there-
fore that the further explanation of His Majesty's Government's
policy given in paragraph 3 of the draft despatch enclosed in
your letter under reference may prove effective in removing any
uncertainty on this point that may yet remain in Sir C. Clementi's
mind.
3. With regard to paragraph 4 of the draft, the consent of
His Majesty's Government to the appointment of a Chinese Consul
at Kuala Lumpur having already been communicated to the Chinese
Government, it does not now seem to be open to His Majesty's
Government to make their consent subject to any condition
precedent. Even if this objection to the course proposed did
not exist it would in Mr. Henderson's opinion be very dangerous
to make it a condition of recognition of Chinese Consuls in
Malaya that the Chinese Government should accept and act on the
principle that "A State may not afford diplomatic protection to
"one of its nationals against a State whose nationality such
"person also possesses". The immediate result of the adoption
of such a policy would be that the Chinese Government would
impose the same condition as regards recognition of British
Consuls in China. The protection now accorded to British
subjects of Chinese race in China would thus automatically cease
and/