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Cecil Clementi ensured this and reverted to them with insistence
at every pertinent opportunity.
He was most careful to obtain a
free and unprejudiced statement of the views of those present.
The considered opinion of the Conference was however so definite-
ly against the granting of the privileges demanded without com-
pensation in the field of inland waters that undue insistence
on my part was cut of the question.
7.
Feeling against adopting the modification proposed by
the Chinese Government hardened considerably when Sir Cecil
communicated to the Conference the telegram sent to you on
October 23rd by Dr. C. T. Wang and your reply, which latter
was heard with lively appreciation. Dr. Kotewall also recounted
some remarks made by Colonel Hayley-Bell (the representative
of Mr. Maze at Hongkong to advise on possible Customs preventive measures) to some prominent Hongkong Chinese to the effect
that failure to conclude an arrangement with the Customs would
lead to "incidents". These remarks had been interpreted by
Chinese merchants in Hongkong as a veiled threat, and they
consequently excused themselves from meeting Colonel Hayley-Bell
at a conference he had proposed to them, leaving it to the
Chinese members of the Executive Council to meet him.
8.
After a very long discussion at the first Conference,
Article 5 was amended to the form as reprinted in the revised
draft. The revised text was carefully discussed by the interests
involved during the interval and adopted at the second Conference.
The original text was mostly retained. Inland navigation privileges to all "non-open ports" (lists of which in Kwangtung and Kwangsi I had procured) were postulated for all flags from
Hongkong, but limited to the two Kwang provinces. As I doubt
whether
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