(Corf)
One enclosure
Number 351
British Consulate-General,
(and three copies)
Copies to: Diplomatic Mission, Banking,
Commercial Counsellor, Ho.132, Supreme Court.
Shanghai.
57
November 4th 1936.
Extract from "North China Daily News"
4/11/36
sir,
With reference to my despatch No.430 of October
30th 1935, I have the honour to report that the abuse
of British extraterritorial treaty rights by foreign
interests acting under cover of our company logis-
lation has again been brought to the public notice in
a case recently tried by His Majesty's Supreme Court
in Shanghai. The action was brought by a dismissed
employee aguinat Newilks (1936) Limited for a balance
of salary and is not in itself of interest except to
the parties concerned, but at the end of his judgment
Judge Grant Jones expressed the following opinion:
"It appears that, of the 10,065 shares allotted,
all save the odd 65 are held by non-British interests, and to allow a private company such as this to masquerade as British is, in my opinion, an encroachment on the privileges grante to British subjects by treaty with the author- ities of this country."
2.
These views were given immediate support in
a leading article in the "North China Daily News" of
which a copy is enclosed, The previous case referred
to by the editor is that of The Guaranty Underwriters
of China Limited reported in my despatch No.253 of
June 19th, 1935. The article makes a strong demand
for an amendment of the Order-in-Council so as to
/prevent
His Majesty's Ambassador,
British Embassy,
PEKING.