CO129-437 - Public Offices - 1916 — Page 404

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the mails passing through Hong Kong. Reference

is also invited to the first paragraph of the letter from the Post Office enclosed in Foreign Office letter

162480/15 of the 11th November 1915.

As regards the propriety of the action taken in respect of the West Coast Grocery Company 's letters Briga-

dier-General Cockerill thinks that these letters should

certainly have been examined and that, whether they were

found in (a) mails despatched through the British Post Office

at Hong Kong (in which case the instructions sent in

accordance with the letter from the Foreign Office to the

Colonial Office 101209 of the 28th July 1915 would apply)

cr (b) mails removed for examination from a neutral ship

calling at Hong Kong, they should have been stopped, unless

they contained communications which could in no way assist

the trade cf the enemy or of the enemy subjects to whom

they were addressed.

The question of the disposal by the Censers in the

United Kingdom of commercial letters despatched from

foreign countries to enemy firms in China or other

neutral countries to which special enactments are ap-

plicable has not so far required special considera-

tion but Brigadier-General Cockerill thinks that these

letters should be treated in every respect as if they

were addressed to enemy countries.

Before the examination of mails removed from neutral

ships was undertaken all transit letters to enemy countries were returned to the office of crigin as

undeliverable but such letters, if harmless, are now for- warded through Holland and, if not they are detained,

but not returned. This alteration of practice was made in

order to avoid treating transit letters more severely

than letters carried by neutral ships and thus discouraging the despatch of inne cucus letters through the United Kingdem.

It appears desirable to instruct the Governor

that letters to enemy subjects in China should

in future be dealt with in the same manner, i.e

merely stopped if they come under paragraphs numbered (1) to (6) of pages 2 and 3 of War Office letter

63/4944 of the 18th June and ctherwise forwarded to

destination.

Brigadier-General Cockerill has for some time

recognized the desirability of issuing precise in- structions for the guidance of officers exercising in Egypt and the Colonies a censorship of transit mails and mails taken from neutral ships but he has thought it better to postpone this action until His Majesty's Government have definitely decided upon the policy to be adopted in this matter.

War Office.

7th July 1916.

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