CO129-465 - Public Offices & Others - 1920 — Page 89

i

!

rtain amount by Hong Kong towards the establishment and maintenance of the Registry of Companies at

Shanghai.

P

It has taken some time to wade through this morass of papers but I think you will find the complete history of the matter in the following:-

Passages marked blue in my minutes on 22443/12, my minute on 35054/12, paragraph 2 of Governor's despatch 28770/13, Governor's telegram 26945/14 and despatch 32786/14, Foreign Office letter 44349/14, Governor's despatch (suggesting £300 a year) 15949/15, Foreign Office letter (saying £300 inadequate and inviting reconsideration) 19493/15, Governor's despatch 38647/15, Foreign Office letter 39625/15, Governor's despatch 43176/15 (adhering to £300), Foreign Office letters 51273/15 and 55166/15 (accepting as result of correspondence with Treasury £200 a year plus cost of registers, forms, stationery etc.), Governor's despatch (offering increase to £300 a year) 32771/16, and Governor's despatch (notifying such increase accepted by Consul General) 44228/16.

The next statement I can find on this matter is that contained in Mr.Wilkinson's memorandum of 1st of June, to which the Foreign Office now refer

(with 44099):

"The revised contribution paid by the

Government of Hong Kong towards the upkeep of the Shanghai Registry of Companies by recent arrangement is now in Hong Kong Dollars Three thousand; which, as last paid, amounted through

the greater exchange value of the Shanghai dollar than of the Hong Kong dollar, to $2,400

only."

He

6.14

p.13.

$14.

سی

came

He also says:-

88

"The Interdepartmental Conference of 1913

to no final decision as to the allocation

of fees paid in connection with the incorpora-

tion of, and the returns to be made from time

to time by, China Companies which were still to

be incorporated under the Hong Kong Ordinances;

and the despatch of His Excellency the Governor

of Hong Kong, now under consideration, gives

opportunity for the suggestion that, as the

protection accorded to China Companies is

Imperial and not Colonial, a substantial part

of the fees paid at Shanghai might well be

allocated to the expense of maintenance of

H.M's Consular Service in China",

He points out the Hong Kong received over

$90,000 in 1919 in respect of these fees and finally

suggests that the Colony should in future contribute

at least $10,000 to the Consular Chest, this is

presumably in addition to the $3,000 for the Shanghai

Registry of Companies.

The Shanghai people see large sums of money

being paid over to Hong Kong which has done little

or nothing to earn them except pass "accommodating

legislation" and their palms are itching.

As already indicated, so far as any legal

question is concerned, we have a sure foundation on

Article 17 of the 1915 Order in Council, and it is a

question of policy whether we should agree to any

increase of the allocation of the proceeds of fees

to Shanghai. It will be remembered that Hong

Kong was to take the fees not merely for the

"accommodation but to compensate the Colony for the

loss of fees which would have been taken in Hong Kong

Q.

rd

C

under