Z..
No.72
sir,
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONGKONG.
22nd August 1946.
50
I have the honour to refer to your despatch No.57 of the 18th June, 1946, enclosing a draft Treaty of Estab- lishment and Navigation which is to be submitted to the Chinese Goverment.
2.
I have given careful consider tion to the provisions of the draft Treaty and now furnish you with my observations thereon. They refer in the main to articles 3, 5, and 9.
3.
The geographical position of dong hong in relation to the mainland of China and the tradition of freedom of entry by persons of Chinese race make any proposal for the exclusion, of such persons extremely controversial. The provisions of Article 3 visualise a control of immigration which in the case of this Colony would be even more strict than that imposed under the Immigration Ordinance No.32 of 1940, which was enacted in a time of emergency. It has been found that the enforcement of the provisions of this Ordinance is, so far as Chinese re concerned, neither practicable or politically expedient, and there is good reason to suppose that the Chinese Government would take grave exception to the imposition of restrictions on the immigration of Chinese into the Colony. It is understood that the Chinese Government protested vigorously when the Immigration ürdinance, 1940 was enacted.
4.
I cannot view with equanimity any curtailment of the existing powers of deportation such as would be involved in the acce, tance of Article 5 (2) of the Treaty. The term "public order" is given in article 5 (2) a very limited application; the implied curtailment of existing power of de, ortation on the ground that it would be conducive to the public good, would, at the resent time, when so many undesirable characters are at large, render the maintenance of law and order in the Colony extreely difficult.
5.
In the circumstances i feel that the automatic extension of the Treaty to hore Long is inadvisable at least in so far as Articles 3 and 5 are concerned, and I would urge that such an extension should either be delayed or else applied with modifications in respect of these art.cies.
6.
I reier Low to article 9, which is presumably framed with a view to furthering the interests of British Insurance Companies which are carrying on business in China. It is in my view mecessary that account should be taken of the potential dangers involved in such a reciprocal arrangement. Nothing is known of the financial stability of Chinese insurance com- panics, and there might well be great difficulty in recovering in the event of loss, if there was no compulsion to keep a proportion of assests available in the Colony for the purpose of meeting claims. As the law steds in Hong Kong every insurance company, whether local or foreign, is required to make a de,osit as a condition of carrying on business
Page 50Page 51