CO129-461 - Governor Sir Stubbs - 1920 [5-7] — Page 311

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British-American Tobacco Company (China) Ltd.

Shanghai, 12th March, 1920.

Sir E. D. H. Fraser, K.C.M.G.,

Registrar of Companies, Shanghai.

,dnevica do-ibedo Twoy

sir,

China (Companies) Amendment Order in Council, 1919.

With reference to the interview which Viscount Acheson, Mr. Cobbe and Mr. Kennett had with you on the 15th January when they informed you that Sir Arthur Churchman was coming to China for the purpose of making arrangements for the compliance by this Company and its subsidiary companies with the new Order, we beg to inform you that Sir Arthur Churchman arrived here on the 9th

instant, and the matter is now under consideration, with the advice of Mr. A. G. Mossop.

Information has been received by a cablegram from London that the Directors of British-American Tobacco Co.,Ltd. (London) have made representations to the Colonial Office as to the difficult position in which this Company and its subsidiary companies in China are placed by the new Order, and while Lord Acheson and Mr. Kennett were recently in Peking the matter was discussed with Mr. Lampson at the Legation and we were asked whether we could suggest any practical means of meeting the difficulty in which we were placed. It was ultimately suggested

that the difficulty might be met by a Supplemental Order in

Council giving the Minister power to grant licences to Chine

Companies to employ non-British Managers under special circum-

stances and under certain conditions. We were, however, unable

to say whether this proposal was one which the Directors of the

British-American Tobacco Co.,Ltd. would advise us to adopt, and

it was arranged that we should cable the proposal to London for

the Directors there to put before the Foreign Office if they

thought fit, and that we should at the same time state the

proposal in writing to His Majesty's Minister. We did so by