CO129-521-12 Chinese Customs- proposed agreement with Hong Kong 2-4-1930 - 16-6-1930 — Page 103

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2.

though expensive to customs, would be highly

inconvenient to longkong. In a covering letter

to me he expresses hope that settlement will be

reached as ctherwise customs will be compelled

to establish something like a preventive

blockade. I have sent a friendly reply to the

effect that I am in communication with the Foreign

Office in regard to certain points in connexion

with agreement and that when these are cleared

up I shall probably suggest that we have a talk

together on the whole question when I am in

Shanghai on my way back north within the next few

days; adding that in the meanwhile I deprecate

any talk of preventive blockade of Hongkong as

unlikely to get us anywhere.

2. In view of above correspondence (copies

of which go to you via Siberia) I should be

grateful for very early reply to my telegram No.

154 from Peking and my telegram No.104 on tour.

I must know where we stand before the end of the

month, otherwise I shall not know what to say to

Maze. On the other hand if I receive your

instructions in time I think it would be a good

thing if I could dissuade him from going to Hongkong at all and suggest instead that I send

George down to Shanghai to go into the whole

matter with him in detail on my behalf if

necessary together with representative of the government of Hongkong. I am sure this is the most hopeful method of handling the question. adhere to the opinion that any agreement should be between His Majesty's Government and China and not between the latter and Hongkong direct.

Copy sent to Shanghai.

Addressed to Foreign Office, repeated to

Peking and Hongkong.

I