THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
4.9
FAR EASTERN (CHINA).
CONFIDENTIAL.
July 25, 1939.
SECTION 5.
[F 7783/79/10]
(No. 95.)
Copy No.
Consul-General Blunt to Viscount Halifax.-(Received July 25.)
HIS Majesty's Consul-General at Canton presents his compliments to His Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and, with reference to Canton despatch No. 79 of the 7th June, 1939, has the honour to transmit to him a copy of his despatch No. 129 to the Governor, Hong Kong, dated the 10th July, 1939, respecting the new temporary agreement regarding the navigation of the Pearl River.
Canton, July 10, 1939.
Enclosure 1.
WLING VAŠEGA SEAMANAN SA
Consul-General Blunt to the Governor, Hong Kong.
(No. 129.) Sir,
Canton, July 10, 1939. WITH reference to your Excellency's despatch No. 40 of the 30th June, I have the honour to enclose a copy of the new temporary agreement which was initialled by myself and Mr. Okazaki on the 4th July. This new agreement takes the place of that initialled on the 18th February, the history of which was fully 36 reported in my despatch No. 40 of the 20th February to His Majesty's Ambassador
at Shanghai, and copied to you as my despatch No. 28 of 1939.
2. Your Excellency will recollect that the old agreement worked with reasonable smoothness and efficiency until on the 5th June my Japanese colleague made a request for the visit of the motor vessel Shirogane Maru to Hong Kong under the terms of the old agreement, which was then in force. For the reasons explained in my telegram No. 136 of the 6th June, I felt that I could not forward this request for a visit to you in the normal way and without previous reference and explanation, since the Shirogane Maru did not, in my opinion, come within the category of ships to which it had been contemplated, at least by the British authorities concerned, that the agreement should apply. I explained my point of view to my Japanese colleague on the 6th June and told him that I was quite prepared to refer the question to you and the commander-in-chief and abide by your decision, but that I would not take action without reference. Thereupon, Mr. Okazaki purported to believe that I had deliberately broken the old agreement, which he took on himself to consider in abeyance, and moreover arbitrarily refused to permit departure under the agreement of the steamship Fatshan, which was then in process of making "a visit.
3. The reasons which prompted my action were that the Shirogane Maru, while nominally chartered by the Japanese Government and therefore falling within the text of my agreement with Mr. Okazaki of the 18th February, was, in fact, a commercial vessel designed to run in competition with the British passenger service and to accustom the local populace to a good Japanese passenger service to the detriment of already handicapped British shipping interests. As soon as I discovered on my visit to Hong Kong on the 11th June that those interests were not opposed to this new passenger service, and that your Govern- ment was ready to accept the calls, it was easy to arrange with Mr. Okazaki on the 12th June for the sailing of the steamship Fatshan with passengers at any date suitable to the British company and to the resumption of the normal dates of running of the British passenger service, preparation, revision, and the gradual conclusion, after consulting your Excellency personally on the 13th and 16th June,
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