CO129-503-7 Chinese labour- recruitment for work in coal mines in Sarawak 17-9-1926 - 14-2-1928 — Page 3

3

I lov leon

Yes

Since traced

I attached

copy

30 деславо

correo with

with Seaty for

Sesey for thiness

Affouss. A.S.

And recommends that he be authorised to permit such enugration

er

These papers have been held up principally

because the paper containing the Governor's despatch

of the 22nd of May 1925, (in some ways the most

important paper in the series), is missing and

has defied all attempts to trace it. We have to

content ourselves, therefore, with the following

note which appears in the Hong Kong Regist:-

"Transmits copy of a letter from the Chief

Secretary, Sarawak, which appears to remove

all objections except that the system is

practically equivalent to indentured emigra-

tion. If the S. of S. sees no objection on

this score a has no wish to offer any

opposition".

It will be seen from 18049/25 that Hong

Kong was against the proposals as originally put

forward, and from 25638/25 that when we were

approached by the Sarawak Government Agent we

informed him that it was not possible for the

Secretary of State to ask the Governor to 60

further in this matter than the Governor was

prepared to go.

It now appears that considerable modifica-

tions have been made in the terms originally

suggested and that Hong Kong, while admitting

that the system is none the less still practically

equivalent to indenture labour, prepared to

acquiesce in the proposals subject to certain

important