CO129-510-10 Financial loan from Hong Kong government to Canton Provincial government 3-4-1928 - 3-8-1928 — Page 46

CO129 Colonial Office Hong Kong Records 理藩院香港檔案 All

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2.

arrangement. Difficulties caused by purely Chinese

loans (which of course there are no means of preventing )

could probably be straightened out by the Chinese

themselves, but any foreign and especially British

participation in such loans would not only greatly

increase the difficulties of the Chinese government

but would seriously undermine the position which His

Majesty's Government might wish to take up.

4. The Nanking government would probably regard

the transaction as a deliberate encouragement for

our own selfish ends of the separatist tendencies

recently manifested in Canton, and their hostility

might adversely affect important British interests

in other parts of China.

5. I have no information as to how the Bank

will obtain the surtax revenue for the purpose of

paying the coupons, but it is obvious that any

arrangement mode for this purpose might have an

important bearing on the wider issues involved in the

question of tariff autonomy.

6. The objection that the loan is one that comes

within the scope of the consortium agreement would

probably be waived by the other banking groups who are

parties to that agreement, but it is impossible to

ignore the danger that this may be the first of a

series of cash advances to be swallowed up by a large

consolidation loan at some future date and I view with

alarm the participation by important British interests

in such dubious and dangerous methods of finance.

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