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that he would be glad if I would not invite him to dinner as he felt that it would be discourteous to refuse and impossible to accept. He hoped that I would dine with him privately.
4.
In view of this decision it was clearly impossible to arrange any kind of public function and it was necessary to treat the Crown Prince's visit as a very private one. His Imperial Highness arrived between 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning. As he was not flying his standard no personal salutes were fired
but the usual salutes were exchanged between the Japanese flag-
ship and the port.
At 9.30 I called on His Imperial Highness on board the "Katori", dressed by Count Chinda's request in a frock coat instead of uniform. I expressed my desire to do anything possible for His Imperial Highness and, if his arrangements permitted, to show him something of the Colony. His Imperial Highness replied that he hoped to land but was not then able to say whether it would be possible.
His Imperial Highness returned my visit almost at once on board H.M.S. "Curlew", courteously placed at my disposal by Captain W. M. James, C.B. The rest of the morning was spent by His Imperial Highness in receiving the General Officer Commanding, the Commodore, the Chief Justice, the Colonial Secretary and other leading officials, I meanwhile exchanging calls with Vice-Admiral Oguri, whom I had had the pleasure of meeting frequently when I was in Ceylon.
In the afternoon the Crown Prince rested, occupy- ing himself I understand mostly in taking photographs of the harbour: he is a very keen photographer.
In the evening, while the Prince remained on board. His Imperial Highness Prince Kanin accompanied by Vice- Admiral Oguri and most of the Crown Prince's suite dined with me to meet the leading Naval and Military Officers, Civil Servants and the Members of the Councils.
In the course of the day it had been arranged with
Count
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