CO129-517-7 Draft Commercial Treaty with China- Governor's action 14-3-1929 - 25-7-1929 — Page 39

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encl. e)

possible, any premature discussions on the thorny question

of extraterritoriality. The Board of Trade, in consul-

tation with this department accordingly prepared a draft

commercial treaty which aimed at maintaining without

addition or diminution the present privileges enjoyed

under existing treaties, so far as they have not been

affected by the treaty of December 20th of last year.

In his telegram No. 379 of the 30th April, a copy of

which is enclosed, Sir Miles Lampson urged that the

prospect of the immediate raising of the extraterritorial

question made it desirable that he should be given discretion

to present the final draft to the Chinese Government at a

very early date.

3. The final draft of the treaty was settled by the

Board of Trade and Foreign Office in consultation with the

Colonial Office and the other departments concerned, but

without prior consultation with commercial interests either

in this country or in Shanghai. In accordance with the

decisions taken at the interdepartmental meeting referred

to in the letter addressed by the Board of Trade to the

водов b0806. Pats Foreign Office (C.R.T.878/29 of the 28th February last -

(24)

copy of which was sent to the Colonial Office), the final

draft was forwarded to Sir M. Lampson with instructions that

he should now take whatever steps he in his discretion

might consider most suitable to initiate negotiations with

a view to the conclusion of a commercial treaty on the

basis of the draft. A further copy of the despatch

containing