CO129-464 - Public Offices - 1920 — Page 555

543

HINA COMPANIES AMENDMENT ORDER IN COUNCIL OF 1919; WORKING OF

H.B.M. CONSULATE-GENERAL,

SHANGHAI

17th March, 1920.

60.

3 copies).

Sir: -

I have the honour to forward oopy of a letter addressed to me as Registrar of Companies by His Majesty's Crown Advocate regarding proposals to allow exceptions to the terms of Article 4 of the China Companies Amendment Order in Council of 1919, and of correspondence with the legal adviser of the British-American Tobacco Company (China) Limited upon the same subject.

Mr. Kennett's suggestion does not find favour with eithe of His Majesty's Judges to whom I have mentioned it and mani-

festly such an amendment would place His Majesty's Legation in a most invidious position in deciding which companies

might have licences, while giving the public the impression

that His Majesty's Government had found the order impossible

to carry out.

I told Sir Arthur Churchman that to my mind his Company

must either revert to being a British Company with head-

quarters in London or become a Hongkong China Company, (though the latter expedient might not work sincs practically the management would still be at Shanghai), or else must register, say, in the Philippines.

Judgment in the case of the Shanghai Cotton Manufacturing

· W. Lampson, Esq., M.V.o.,

is Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires,

British Legation,

PEK I NG.

Company,