CO129-427 - Public Offices - 1915 — Page 617

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hand over the key, but that everything further depends on the Hapag and the Chartered bank (or R. and Co.) following the recent order of the English Government with regard to trading with the enemy strictly; these Godowns belonging to Germans ought really not to be used by the English at all; but this is a matter which does not concern us.

We have

done our duty when we handed over the key, as we can prove to the Texas or S. at any time. If difficulty should arise and the Hapag should ultimately require the goods to be removed from the godown, this need not trouble us and we await further information from Shanghai with regard to the

matter.

As Ch. adds this Young wanted to be "oversmart" when he cabled direct to the Texas that they should give the Agency to Sh. T. and Co. as S.R. and Co. could not be estab- lished in Hongkong. He had no authority to do this according to the ordinances and accordingly the Government

that have decided, especially the Attorney-General, Kemp, they will no longer support him.

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I am considering what you say in your last letter with regard to the 30,000 dollars overproceeds, and I am entire- ly of your opinion that there is no hurry to deal in any particular way with the amount and we can let matters devel- op of themselves. You write "Had the erchants or the sub- agents set the proceeds of the last consignments against the security furnished as I made clear to you in my letter of 19/4, of which I enclose a copy, these difficulties had not arisen, etc". To this I beg to reply that no diffi- culties have arisen, and that what you proposed on 19/4 can still take effect if I simply pay back the money which I have received from the sub-agents in respect of the last consignments to them against the sureties furnished. But at the time I definitely required the payment of these

-consiments.