Care should be tashes to ensure,
209
friction.
already
He understood that the Inspector General
was proposing to put on specially armed preventive
vessels. He suggested moreover that the present extent
of smuggling was much to the detriment of reputable
bona fide British firms.
Paskin
Mr. E
mentioned
sho. Sign
the suggestion that the Canton authorities had no.
The Agrament great interest in the prevention of smuggling but
twas at all brobable the Foreign Office representatives did not believe that
believe Canton would torpedo the Agreement. Mr. Ordęcalled
attention to the fact, which Sir C. Clementi had
>
not sufficiently emphasised, that apart from Article 5
the draft Agreement secured for Hong Kong substantial
new privileges in the proposals relating to transit
and trans-shipment. In this connection Mr. Overton
observ
rved that references to bonded warehouses seemed
to have been omitted from the new draft for no
obvious reason and suggested that the Hong Kong
Government should be informed that it was considered
desirable that bonded warehouses should exist.
Mr. Ellis referred to the alternative proposals
mentioned by the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce in a
telegram to the China Association. He stated that
the Colonial Office had asked Hong Kong to explain
to what this referred.
After discussion it was agreed that a telegram
should be sent to the 0.1.G. of Hong Kong, instructing
of the Agreement him to communicate the latest draft/ to the Inspector
General for his comments.
The 0.A.G. should be as
non-
No comments yet.
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