CO129-491 - Public Offices - 1925 — Page 101

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ME

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open informal and secret negotiations with those in poñer at Canton with a view to arriving at the basis of a settlement that will be acceptable both to the North and the South or, if that be impossible at present, with a view to a restoration of friendly relations between Canton and Hong Kong. This

should be done in such way as not to lead the Chinese to

suspect that the British are unduly anxious for a settlement,

and in my humble opinion some such means as I have endeavoured

to indicate above would be more likely to achieve satisfactory

results.

I submit that whilst the negotiations with regar

to tariffs and extraterritoriality are in progress any

suggestion of a general revision of the Treaties with China

is to be deprecated, as the mere suggestion would probably

led the Chinese to think that the Foreign Powers gere unduly

anxious to grant concessions to China: a cautious advance

within the limits indicated by the Washington Conference is he

only safe policy to adopt in my humble opinion.

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