CO129-444 - Governor Sir May & Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1917 [10-12] — Page 251

COPY.

Dear Mr. Tratman,

Enclosure 1.

REC

C

[09

AMERICAN CONSULAR SERVICE.

REG 6 JAN 18

Hongkong, Gotober 26th.

1917.

247

I have your note of yesterday in regard to

the admission of wines free of duty. I had presented the matter

tentatively to you merely with the idea of raising the question

as to whether I could secure wines free of duty which are held

in bend in the Colony. I assumed that the general question of

the admission of wines free of duty for consular officers of

the United States was accepted. The ordinance to which you refer

is an ordinance for reciprocal privileges and means nothing

if it does not mean the admission of such code without duty.

At the time it ma passed wo were notified of its passare and

it was indicated to us that it meant wines could be imported

by us free of duty. There were no other duties in Henghong at

that time.

In March 1911 I imported a ocnaidə”able

quantity of wine for my own personal use (I was then keeping

house, and arranged with the import and export office over the

telephone (with Mr. Beckwith I believe) for its free import at

which time I was advised that if the invoios of the wines was

presented, in duplicats, to you at the inert and export office

in the harbour office the wines would be despatched free of

duty.

This was done through the firm of MacEwen and Friokel

under date of March 6th or 7th, 1911, my letter to them being

dated March 6th, 1911.

Inasmuch as this is a maoin"coal privilege

on the basis of which British officers in the United States

secure the remission of import duties on personal goods of this

sort its denial becomes quite important so that I cannot let