15
ENCLOSURE No. 5 of Canton Despatch No.191 to B. E.Shanghai
of 30th August, 1940.
BRITISH CONSULATE GENERAL,
CANTON.
30th August, 1940.
Sir and dear Colleague,
With reference to the "immediate consultation"
which it was agreed in our exchange of letters of today's date should take place between you and myself as to what represents "reasonable" pilotage fees in Article 5(e) of the Blunt-Okazaki Agreement of July 4th, 1939, I propose to visit Hongkong tomorrow in order to consult the Government of Hongkong, those otherwise interested, and experts, and upon my return within a few days, to put before you certain detailed proposals which I have prepared and which will probably be amended and amplified as a result of my discussions at Hongkong.
2. Meanwhile I take this opportunity to place on record for your consideration certain general observations in regard to a revision of these pilotage fees and to certain other matters connected with the settlement which we have made today and embodied in the exchange of letters referred to in paragraph 1 above.
(a) The settlement in regard to the case of the s.s. "Fatshan" has been reached in a spirit of mutual forbearance and mutual goodwill for mutual benefit, in order to promote a better understanding and smoother working in future, especially in regard to further reopening of the Pearl River.
(b) It is my strong hope that a substantial reduction of the present scale of pilotage fees will be made preferably on a sliding scale e.g. so much a trip while there is only one British vessel a week on the Canton-Hongkong run, so much less a trip when there are
Nagao Kita, Esquire,
His Imperial Japanese Majesty's Consul-General,
CANTON.
two/