ENCLOSURE NO. 4 of Canton Despatch No.4 to B. E. Shanghai
of 30th August, 1940.
JAPANESE CONSULATE GENERAL,
CANTON.
August 30th, 1940.
13
MEMORANDUM
With reference to a provisional and unofficial draft letter handed to the Japanese Consul-General by the British Consul-General on August 12th, 1940, concerning the dispute over the s.s. "Fatshan", the Consul s-General concerned have come to the following understanding:-
(a). As a result of the discussion between the Consuls- General concerned, the British Consul-General has agreed to cancel paragraph 3 of the draft letter, which originally had followed paragraph 2 of the letter, stating that "Sailings to and from Hongkong of the Japanese vessels under the Agreement of July 4th, 1939, which were temporarily suspended may simultaneously be resumed;" in order to prevent the probable recurrence of the following argument in the future:
The British Authorities, as
as a result of the action taken against the s.s. "Fatshan" at Canton, cancelled the agreement to the sailing of the s.s. "Kaisyu-maru" to Hongkong on August 4th. The agreement had previously been given by the Hongkong Government to, this sailing together with the rest of this ship's schedule.
The Japanese Authorities, on their side, have interpreted that their action did not call for the suspension of the Agreement, and that they, in practice, have not cancelled the agreed sailings of the British vessel between Canton and Hongkong during the month of August. They, therefore, have been of the opinion that the sailing of the Japanese vessel to Hongkong on August 4th was not the one to be cancelled legally.
(b).
With reference to the 3rd paragraph of the British Consul-General's letter of August 30th, 1940, concerning the "reasonable pilotage fees" which will be discussed later between the Consuls-General concerned, it has been agreed that no refund will be requested by the British
Consul-General/