CO129-368 - Acting Governor May - 1910 [8-9] — Page 386

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of the Wai Wu Pu and the Board of Communications.

4.

The reason for this decision was

that, whereas the Working Agreement was a demand made by

this Colony on China, the Customs Convention was a demand

made by China on Hongkong, and it was, therefore, felt

that by negotiating the two matters simultaneously there

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would be room for give and take in driving bargains

acceptable to both Governments, while by negotiating them

as separate agreements it was hoped that any resistance

of the Board of Communications to the proposals in con-

-nection with the Working Agreement would be overcome by

enlisting the support of the Shui Wu Chu and Inspectorate

of Customs in favour of the Customs Convention and by

refusing to conclude the one agreement without the other.

5.

It now eventuates that the Board

of Communications does in fact object to the Working

--

Agreement as drafted by this Government. If His Majesty's

Government is not prepared to consider any modification in

the terms of that agreement, and upon this subject I am

addressing Your Lordship in a separate Despatch, then the

only means that this Government can suggest of removing

the objections of the Board of Communications is the

acceptance of the proposals of the Chinese Imperial

Maritime