CO129-464 - Public Offices - 1920 — Page 567

555

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1'.

If the proposals made by the Company are carried out, as there

is every reason I understand, to believe they will be, then

the grounds upon which a revision of the China Companies

(Amendment) Order in Council of 1919 was urged at Feking by

the representative of the Company in February last, would

disappear.

As to the Shanghai Cotton Manufacturing Co. Ltd.,

hitherto under non-British control, the proceedings in H.M.

Supreme Court, referred to in my despatch to yourself of 16th

March last, have terminated by a judgment of the Court in

favour of the Plaintiff British Shareholders in the Company,

and the Company is now in course of voluntary liquidation,

whereby the interests of the British shareholders will be pro-

tected and the interests of the Japanese shareholders given

their due weight, and no more.

Fortunately the 'China' Companies affected by the

new Order in Council (with the exception of a few companies

as to which there were reasons for allowing a reasonable delay to comply therewith) had already taken steps to transfer their management into British hands, or liquidate, before the idea

for licences that there might be an Amending Order providing

allowing a continuance of non-British control got abroad; and

I have heard of no case of real hardship or damage to legitimate interests being done thereby. Had there been a prospect of evading the new Order in Council, many companies then under non-British control would, I am sure, have made out apparently

good causes for excemption.

The China Import and Export Lumber Co., Ltd. would have said, with much truth, that their then General Manager,

Mr./