CO129-417 - Public Offices - 1914 — Page 91

88

I think that all life companies should make their

deposit on registration in Hongkong or in Shanghai

for transfer to Hongkong whether they are China Com-

panies or not. The difficulty which Mr. Kemp antici-

pates would thus be provided for. The power of

exemption should in the case of a China Company be

exercised by His Majesty's Minister subject to the

enforcement of a deposit in Hongkong in cases where

such exempted company opens business there.

Auditors. Clause 6 (3) only meets my point in part.

We should have some difficulty in preparing a list

of auditors, and Sir E. Fraser, who as His Majesty's

Consul-General in Shanghai will be Registrar of

Companies in China, thinks, and I agree with him,

that we are better without the list and that the

control in the Order-in-Council is sufficient. The

difficulty could be met by excepting the applica-

tion of Section 16 of the Companies, amendment,

Order-in-Council to China Companies.

Hongkong Companies. I quite sympathize with Mr.

Kemp's dislike of the term and the inconvenience it

causes is patent when in discussing questions it is

necessary to differentiate between a Hongkong

Company