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in China should be British.
This, of course, in
addition to the other requirementa to be imposed on all
British companies in this country, public and private.
9. Er. Nossop has suggested a method for enforcing
these provisions which obviates many of the difficulti es
hitherto encountered in applying our local company
legislation. His proposal is that Artiele 194 of the
order-in-Council dealing with the control of "China
companies" (and certain other articles as may appear
necessary) should be repealed and replaced by an article
dealing with all British companies operating in China.
He suggests that the new article should follow the
precedent already established by Article 200 on the
subject of companies limited by guarantee. It should
begin by laying dow the principle that "No British
company shall be allowed to operate in China without
the consent of the Ambassador;" and, as in Article 200,
it should go on to state that "As a condition of this
consent the Ambassador may require etc. etc." Then
would follow the conditions which are considered
requisite for ensuring that the rights and privileges
accorded by our treaties with China shall only be
available to companies of gmuinely British nationality.
The Ambassador would also have to have the power to
withdraw his consent subsequently if the required
conditions ceased to exist. In the second enclosure
to this despatch I have set out in summarised form want,
in my opinion, these conditions should include; and I
also attach a minute by the Crow Advocate commenting
on the subject in general and on these conditions in
particular.
10.
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