CO129-501-3 Chinese situation- Protection of British subjects of Chinese race 23-10-1926 - 21-12-1927 — Page 136

[This Document is the Property of His Eritannic Majesty's Government, and should be

returned to the Foreign Office If not required for official use.

]

CHINA.

Decode.

bir M. Lempaon. (Pening);

April 4ta, 1927.

D.

2.00.p.m. April 4th, 1927.

No. 598.

R.

(R).

2.10.p.m. April 4th, 1927.

Your telegram ko. 135 and my telegram No. 373. Legal Commission with Mr. Gerstin as british

delegate have commenced their work. No terms of

reference having been agreed on (see my telegram No.

508) I have given Garstin the draft terms of reference

I took down to wai Chiao-pu as a guide to work on.

They are as follows: "The Commission will file a list

of the modern Chinese law courts referred to in pro-

posal number 1 (of british offer of January 28th).

The Commission will report:

A. What codes and subordinate legislation come

within ambit of proposal number 3;

E. The legal authority in each case for levy

of any taxation suggested as coming under proposal

number 4.

Any further points not covered by this which

Chinese may raise in the course of their discussions

can be considered on their merits.

One of the difficulties which has not so far been

solved is question of how far any particular law is

recognized throughout China. Garstin is assured by

his Chinese colleagues that general law is universally

applied though in certain cases variations in, for in-

stance, law of contract may have been introduced by

the more radicel sommern goverment.

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