CO129-492 - Governor Sir Clementi - 1925 [12] - 1926 [1-5] — Page 546

I

hand at tw nokta nos

.89.

fles biedo Jagr A

SUOMIAS (bengið)

No

SECRET

betarie

GOVERNMENT

HOUSE

HONGKONG. 21st May,1926.

523

Sir,

8245

7183

In your telegram of the 28th April the question of the Washington surtaxes was referred to this Government for the first time. I had no copies of the Foreign Office telegram Peking No. 104 of the 25th March on the subject, nor of the reply by the Consul General at Canton, nor of the Peking telegram to the Foreign Office, 8245 No. 25 of the 14th April. However, on the 30th April, I

obtained copies of these documents from Mr. J.F Brenan, His Majesty's acting Consul General at Canton, and I discussed the subject with him when he visited me in Hong Kong on the 5th May. I have also discussed the matter in Executive Council on the 6th, 13th and 20th May.

2.

The first four questions propounded by the Foreign Office ask in effect whether, having regard to the action taken by the Canton Goverment in 1923 in respect of the surplus Customs revenus, it is probable that that Government would lay claim to a share of the Washington surtaxes if levied within the next few months; and whether, in the event of such claim being rejected, the Canton Government would be likely to seize the Canton Customs. The endeavour to forecast future possibilities of this kind may perhaps

be assisted by a study of the past history of the Customs surplus question, which, for this reason, I briefly recapitulate.

3/

RIGHT HONOURABLE

&C..

LIEUTENANT COLONEL L.C.M.S.AMERY? M.p.,

&c.

&C.,