CO129-362 - Public Offices - 1909 — Page 538

...

536

of the British creditors. At the same time he accused

His Pajeety'e Acting Consul General at Canton of adhering

too strictly to juristic principles in dealing with the

Chinese, thereby affording the British merchants less pro-

tection than wee afforded to moet other nationalities by

the Consular Representatives.

In forwarding Sir T.Piggott letter to the Secretary

of State for the Colonies, Sir .Lugard referred to a

suggestion pace by Yr.absfield, late Consul General at

Canton, that a remedy for the condition deplored by Sir F.

Piggottnight be found in a reciprocal arrangement with

regard to bankruptcy between the Tongkung Government and

the Provincial Governmert at Canton, evel an arrangement

involving in all probability the creation of a lankruptcy

Court in Canton as a Department of the Magistracy.

It will be remembered what this sucroation of Mr.

Mansfield arose out of a lengthy previous correspondence

on the wider subject of the recovery under Article XX111

of the Treaty of Tientsin of debts incurred in Hongkong

1

by natives of Chine who abscond to China and have prop