20 on
237
goods manufactured in Hongkong.
With regard to these and
other amendments, however, it will not be possible to form
a definite opinion until the new draft has been communi cated
to the Inspector-General of Chinese Maritime Customs and
his views upon it have been ascertained.
3. The crux of the whole agreement is Article V relating
to inland water privileges for vessels plying fron Hongkong.
Sir C. Clementi continues to insist that unless these
privileges are secured for vessels under the British flag
equally with Chinese vessels, he must refuse to proceed with
the agreement. The principal argument which he adduces in
his despatch of November 20th is that the Chinese mer chants
of Hongkong value very highly the protection given by the
British flag and would be most reluctant to dispense with it.
From this purely local point of view there is undoubtedly
some justification for the attitude Sir C. Clementi has
taken up.
He appears, however, to have ignored the
consideration that the protection of the British flag in
China is the responsibility not of the local government in
Hongkong but of His Majesty's Government in the United
Kingdom and that in the interests of friendly relations
between Great Britain and China it is undesirable that there
should be any considerable increase in the number of Chinese
owned vessels navigating the inland waters of China under
the British flag. I am to request that Lord Passfield's
attention may be drawn in this connexion to the views
expressed by Mr. Henderson in paragraph 4 of the letter from this department F 5071/52/10 of the 18th October last.
62847/29
4..
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.