CO129-333 - Governor Nathan - 1906 [1-4] — Page 264

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Enclosure 4.

261

charge be removed from the Register.

7.

I referred these suggestions to

the Attorney-General who is of opinion that both of them

are based upon the misconception indicated in his further

minute of the 16th. instant of which I also enclose a copy

that they did not call for any action on the part of this

Government, and that in any case it would be impracticable

to give effect to them.

8.

In a subsequent discussion I have

had with Sir Henry Berkeley on the subject he told me that

it would be possible to legislate to prevent any registra-

-tion in the Colony of Companies owning or formed to own

newspapers in China or to remove from the register any

Company of which the directorate had been convicted of an

offence by a British Court in China but he was decidedly

averse to such legislation, which would have undesirable

results, being enacted on account of the mistaken idea that

the registration of a Company at Hongkong furnished pro-

-tection in the event of unlawful acts being committed by

it in China. In the face of this opinion I do not propose

to take further action in the matter unless by Your Lord-

-ship's