- 2 -
of a hitherto unrecognised de facto Government."
3.
16
It appears to me, however, that this Government
would have no locus standi for an objection to such action
by the Chinese Maritime Customs; and, secondly, that it would
not be in the interest of the Colony's trade to attempt to
raise one. The Hong Kong Government exercises no control over
and takes no responsibility for the duties charged at Kowloon
by that Customs Authority: I fail to see, therefore, how its
abstention from objecting to the collection by that Authority
at Kowloon of duties levied in accordance with the wishes of
the de facto administration at Canton could be construed as
tacit recognition of the latter administration.
4. On the other hand it is in the interest of the
Government that commercial traffic should be resumed as soon
as possible along the Kowloon-Canton-Hankow rail route. It
would seem certain that goods, duty on which had been paid at
Kowloon according to the Je jure Government's tariff and,
presumably, brought to that Government's account, would not
be recognised at Canton as duty-paid and would, therefore, be
subject to a second duty payment. Payment of duty at Kowloon
being optional only it may be assumed that no exporter would
choose that alternative. It follows that as a revenue
collector the Kowloon Commissioner of Chinese Maritime Customs
would be functionless were he to charge according to the de jure Government's tariff, or were he to withhold from the
de facto Government any duties collected by him on either tariff-basis.
5.
It might, therefore, logically be contended that the Kowloon Commissioner, in the circumstances contemplated
by the Inspector General, would in effect be subject to indirect force majeure so long as he continued to function
at all. And inasmuch as the Chinese Maritime Customs (to