15.
109
know whether the Chinese Government would nowadaya agree
to this procedure, to which Mr. Maze was agreeable and
for which he quoted the Dairen and Tsingtao Custome
agreements as precedents. I thought, however, that if
the Governor concurred, and you, sir, approved, we might
try for this procedure, in which case kr. maze would
make the necessary alterations in the draft before sub-
mitting it to the Minister of finance (see my telegram
Number 225 Tour series). kr. Ingram subsequently report
ed that Mr. waze had already submitted the draft to the
Minister of Finance, though he had explained to him that
the preamble could be altered if it were held desirable
for anyone else to sign; he had urged är. T. V. soong
most strongly to accept the agreement and had declined
to go to Hongkong to clinch matters till he knew that
Hanking accepted the draft. I learnt from Foreign Offic
letter of the 6th of Wctober to the Colonial uffice, a
copy of which was forwarded to me in your despatch Humbe
973 of vetober 11th, that the Department were not inclås
ad to/