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Would the Hongkong Government not consent to leave
these people to the jurisdiction of their own authorities? He
knew there was an Order-in-Council of 1899 but the Chinese
authorities did not recognise its validity. I replied that
all that had been gone into at the time and the British
Government's attitude had been conveyed to the Chinese
Minister in London in a Note from the Secretary of State
himself in 1900. Mr. Hsu said the Chinese had never ad-
mitted the correctness of that attitude. I replied that that
was so, but the fact remained that that was the British
Goverment's attitude and there was no likelihood of their
receding from it. He ended up with "Well, anyhow, please
give my letter to the Ambassador as soon as he gets back".
I gained the impression from Mr. Hsu's manner that
he did not really expect his representations to bear much
fruit.
(Sgd). A.D.BLACKBURN.
2/12/1936.