CO129-345 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 581

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ས་སྐྱ་ར

4630 577

VOLCE 6 PER 07/

HONG KONG. COOLIE LABOUR

I had an interview yesterday with Mr Lloyd

George, Major Seely, M.P., and Mr Mackarness, M.P. Mr Lloyd George had previously received a strong deputation of the Liverpool Ship-owners, urging him to give them as soon as possible an indication of the

decision of the Government upon this question, as the

time had arrived when they would have to make the

necessary arrangements for preparing ships to take part

in the traffic.

I told Mr Lloyd George that I understood that

Lord Elgin proposed to bring the matter again before the Cabinet, and that he would suggest that the Gover-

nor aight exercise his discretion under the Ordinance

by granting licences, subject to regulations which had

received the approval of His Majesty's Covernment.

Mr Lloyd George was evidently very anxious that arrange- ments should be made to enable the British Shipping

Companies to embark in this traffic at the earliest

possible date.

After giving this explanation privately

to the President of the Board of Trade, we engaged in

conversation with Major Seely and Mr Mackarness;

they were both fiercely opposed at first to any relaxa-

tion of the existing rule, which forbids Governor

to grant any licence. They undoubtedly objected

to the trade as such, but they evidently felt strongly

that if the Government allowed licences to issue from

Hong