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13. Owing to the collapse of the conference
30
no action on this proposal was pofsible. The situa~ tion, however, suddenly developed in the very direc- tion which was anticipated when the proposal was made. The Cantonese did in fact seize the Washington sur- taxes by levying, in defiance of the Treaties, cer- tain additional taxes on the foreign trade of the Port. His Majesty's Government have with much reluctance Joined in the protest against the new taxes for the sake of maintaining solidarity with the Powers, but they are not satisfied that this is the right policy for the present situation. They regret that they did not more insistently press their views at an earlier stage of the Conference, but they think that it is still not too late, despite the protest already made, to return to the alternative course proposed in the memorandum of May 28th. His Majesty's Government therefore strongly urge that the Powers should now authorise the immediate levy of the Washington sur- taxes unconditionally throughout China. They hope that this may provide a basis for regularising the position at Canton.
14.
The principal objection that will probably be made to this proposal is that in strict logic it would amount to condoning a breach of treaty. This argument, however, does not sufficiently take into account the realities of the situation. The basic facts of the present situation are that the treaties are now admittedly in many respects out of date, and that in any attempt to secure revision the Chinese are
confronted....
P.O
ade
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