CO129-331 - Public Offices - 1905 — Page 242

237.

This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government] C ().

CHINA TRADE.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[August 14.

31709.

SECTION 2.4 SEP 05

No. 1.

Sir C. MacDonald to the Marquess of Lansdowne.—(Received August 14.)

(No. 183.) My Lord,

Tokió, July 14, 1905. WITH reference to my despatch No. 348 of the 15th December, 1904, and to your Lordship's despatch No. 220 of the 7th December, 1901, I have the honour to Transmit translation of a note from the Japanese Government, from which your Lord- ship will perceive that the Japanese Government agree with His Majesty's Government as regards the necessity for the mutual protection of Japanese and British trade-marks in China and Corea.

I understand, however, on consultation with the Minister for Foreign Affairs, that no provision at present exists for the punishment by the Japanese Consular Courts in China and Corea of Japanese subjects infringing British trade-marks, and that, before the desired object can be attained, a Convention between the two Govern- ments, and not merely an exchange of notes between the Ministers of the two countries in Corea and China, will be necessary.

As regards the wording of the proposed Convention, I should mention that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have pointed out that, under the Order in Council of 1899, the consent of the British Minister is required in the case of each separate prosecution in a British court. The Japanese Government consider this procedure unnecessarily eumbrous, and they hope that the Convention may be so worded as to render the formality of the Minister's consent unnecessary in the case of Japanese prosecutions. in English courts, and vice versa.

I have, &c.

(Signed)

CLAUDE M. MacDONALD.

(Translation.) Sir,

Inclosure in No. 1.

Count Katsura Taro to Sir C. MacDonald,

Tokió, July 5, 1903. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of your Excellency's note of the 10th September, 1904, making proposals, in accordance with the instructions of His Majesty's Government, with regard to the reciprocal protection of British and Japanese trade-marks in China, and of your Excellency's note of the 12th January last, making further proposals, in accordance with the instructions of His Majesty's Government, for the extension of this reciprocal protection to British and Japanese trade-marks in China.

I now have the honour to inform your Excellency that consultation in regard to this matter with the Departments concerned has been completed, and that the Japanese Government agree with His Majesty's Government in considering this reciprocal protection of trade-marks to be necessary.

In answering your Excellency thus for the time being,

[2140 0-2

-2]

I take, &c. (Signed)

KATSURA TARO,

Minister for Foreign Affairs.