YCLOSURE No.1 in CANTON DESPATCH No.72 to H.M.A. SHANGHAI of 4/4/39.
Copies to:-
Embassy, Shanghai No.72
(& 2 copies)
British Consulate-General,
CANTON.
Foreign Office No.57
(& 2 copies)
Governor, Hong kong No.64
C.-in-C. No. 13
3rd April, 1939.
Commodore, No.6
S.N.O.W.R. No.9
42
My dear Okazaki,
In reply to your letter of March 20th regarding visits
of Japanese Government Chartered vessels to Hong Kong and
suggesting the alteration of Paragraph 3 of the memorandum
on this subject initialled by ourselves on February 13th,
I referred your letter to His Excellency the Governor of
Hong Kong•
2. Neither he nor myself have ever cared for any fixed
ratio between visits in regard to this temporary arrangement
concerning Japanese Government Chartered vessels visiting
Hong Kong and British passenger vessels visiting Canton.
Both Sir Geoffry Northcote and myself have always felt that
a better basis is mutual reasonable consideration for each
other's convenience. You will recollect that our memorandum
specifically purported to record "a summary ... of the
arrangement agreed upon" and was purposely worded vaguely
with all rights reserved on both sides, as a temporary
agreement of fact which constituted no precedent for the
future.
3, I am therefore in a position to assure you that the
Government of Hong Kong is prepared to give all reasonable
facilities to Japanese Government Chartered vessels provided
Katsuo Okazaki, Asquire,
His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Consul-General,
CANTON.
/the