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171

HONG KONG

No. 65.

(Secret.)

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 14th November, 1914.)

SIR,

Government House, Hong Kong, 9th October, 1914. In continuation of my secret despatch of the 25th September,* I have the honour to transmit the enclosed paraphrases and translations of cypher and code telegramat received from you and despatched by me to you on the subject of the Anglo-German war. The information and instructions contained in your tele- grams have been communicated to those concerned. I make the following refer- ences to special cases.

2. Your telegram of the 23rd September which contained an outline of the proceedings conducted by His Majesty's Prize Court in London in the case of a detained vessel, has been communicated to Prize Court authorities. At the investigation of the 8.8. "Rajaburi," the only vessel detained in this port, a similar procedure will be adopted.

3. The instructions contained in your telegram of the 23rd ultimo are being complied with. I will, however, report upon the action taken in a separate despatch and forward the returns required.

4. On the 25th September I telegraphed the names of all prize ships which have been brought into this port by His Majesty's war ships. One vessel, you will observe, was a joint Anglo-French capture. I may add, with reference to your code telegram of the 24th September regarding ships whose cargo has been detained, that no case of the kind has arisen to date.

I

5. I regret the serious and unforeseen delay which my secret despatch of the 12th August‡ suffered in transmission and regarding which the telegraphic corre- spondence concluding with your telegram of the 5th October has arisen. may explain that after the outbreak of hostilities the Siberian service was sus- pended, also the service via Canada, and the P. and O. Company's service via Suez was threatened with interruption owing to the possible activity of hostile cruisers. I took advantage of the American mail service via San Francisco and New York, which, though not expeditious, offered greater security.

I presume that the delay was accentuated by the dislocation of the steamer services from New York to Europe.

I enclose for your information a tablet giving dates and particulars of despatch of the periodical secret despatches on the war, and other important confidential despatches on the same subject, which I have addressed to you since the outbreak of hostilities.

6. I am addressing you in a separate despatch regarding the telegraphic correspondence on the subject of trading with the enemy ending with your code telegram of the 3rd October.

7. With reference to paragraph 15 of my secret despatch of the 12th August, the Committee appointed to control the price of foodstuffs appears to have attained satisfactory success. Weekly meetings are held under the chairman- ship of the Colonial Treasurer, when the maximum sale prices of all important foodstuffs are fixed and notified in the Government Gazette. The principal con- siderations taken into account in fixing prices are the fall in exchange, increased insurance on freights, and increased cost of labour. It is satisfactory to note that it has been necessary to prosecute in only two instances.

I have, &c.,

F. H. MAY,

Governor.

(Secret.)

SIR,

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 30th November, 1914.)

Government House, Hong Kong, 23rd October, 1914. In continuation of my Secret despatch of the 9th instant,* I have the honour to transmit the enclosed paraphrases and translations of cipher and code telegramst received from you and sent to you on the subject of the war.

2. The instructions contained in your telegrams have been complied with, and

I enclose copy of a further notification issued on the subject of trading with the enemy in accordance with your code telegram of the 12th of October.

3. The instructions contained in your telegram of the 11th October were communicated to the Harbour Master. The prohibition of the employment of enemy subjects on British merchantmen has, I understand, been enforced since the commencement of hostilities.

4. I am addressing you separately on the subjects of my cipher telegrams of the 21st October.

49518/S

(Secret.)

No. 66.

I have, &c.,

F. H. MAY,

Governor, &c.

THE GOVERNOR to THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

(Received 11th December, 1914.)

Government House, Hong Kong, 5th November, 1914.

SIR,

In continuation of my Secret despatch of the 23rd October,§ I have the honour to transmit the enclosed paraphrases and translations of cipher and code telegrams† exchanged with you on the subject of the war.

2. I shall address you separately on the subject of the application to the Colony of regulations of the nature to be found under the Defence of the Realm Act.

8. Your cipher telegram and your code telegram of the 30th October and 1st of November were published in a Gazette Extraordinary on the 1st instant.

4. The instructions conveyed in your various telegrams have been carried

out.

5. The maxim guns and ammunition are awaiting shipment, but some little delay may occur in despatching them, as steamers sailing for Durban are infrequent. The matter is in the hands of the naval authorities.

6. Everything remains quiet in the Colony, but there has been a considerable exodus of Chinese, which still continues, who cannot afford to live here in the present depression of trade. Trade shows little signs of recovering from the dis- location it has suffered, and the unfavourable situation is much aggravated by the chaotic condition of currency in China. Rates of monetary exchange between different ports and districts in China are now subject to such extraordinary varia- tions that buying and selling becomes an almost impossible speculation.

I have, &c.,

F. H. MAY,

* No. 68. + Not printed.

‡ No. 58.

* No. 64. | Not printed.

Not reprinted.

§ No. 65.

Governor,

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE Reference

24 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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170

HONG KONG,

No. 67.