CO129-491 - Public Offices - 1925 — Page 136

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receive at the hands of theBritish representative an applica- tion that will vary according to circumstances.

14. It may, in the first place, be urged that the Com- mission should investigate the whole system of foreign con- cassions and settlements in China, the terms under which they are held and the conditions under which they are administered, with a view to recommending fundamental modifications of the system, if not its total abolition.

10.

If so, the British representative will bear in mind that Shanghai is the most prominent examplo of the gyszem in question; that, if the retrocession of the Mixed Court and Chinese representation on the Shanghai Municipal Council can be arranged, an essential factor in Chinese discontent under this head will have boon met; that, if these reforms can be arranged, & procedent will be croated which is bound to have effects in other concessions; and that the ultimate channel for negotiating these reforms with the Chinese Government must be the diplomavic body. If therefore, negotiations for these purposes are in progress while the commission is sitting, or if they have been broken off by the Chinese pending the result of the Commission's labours, the British representative should consider whether it would help or retard their resump- tion or their successful issue if the Commission were to investigate matters affecting the constitution and administra- tion of foreign settlements and concessions generally. In making up his mind on this point he should be guided by the

advice/