CO129-443 - Governor Sir May - 1917 [7-9] — Page 14

COPY.

Enclosure

Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce.

sir,

10

Hongkong, 9th. June,

1917.

17

L

I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 86th. April last (No. 3679/1916) enclosing a copy of an "Interim Report on the Importation of Goods from the Present Enemy Countries after the War" presented by Lord Balfour of Burleigh's Committee on Commercial and Industrial Folicy, and requesting the

views of this Chamber thereon.

1

My Committee have assumed that their views have been

requested on the subject matter of the Report as affecting the

Empire generally and not merely this Colony.

They have based their views on the assumption that

the Allies will be able to dictate the terme on which peace wil1

they

be granted, but realise that the policy to be adopted with regard

to enemy gcode will be largely governed by the peace terms the Allies are able to insist upon.

Subject to the above, my Committee have come to the

following conclusione:-

1. That they are inclined to agree with Sir Alfred Booth's

memorandum, and to think that the objects of the Paris Economic

Conference can be better attained by a tariff.

2. That prohibition of imports required in the United Kingdom

which cannot be obtained within the Dominions or from the Allied

Nations would be detrimental to our own interests.

3. That facilities and where necessary assistance should be

afforded to British Industries which have been inaugurated since

the war beran for the manufacture of articles of trade which had

previously been largely in the hands of enemy countries.

4. That little progress can be made with 2 and 3 above without

first consulting the self Governing Overseas Dominione, in order

to arrive at some basis of negotiation with the Allied Ratione and