CO129-521-12 Chinese Customs- proposed agreement with Hong Kong 2-4-1930 - 16-6-1930 — Page 81

2.

government would establish preventive service with

co-operation of Chinese customs and he said he would

instruct his commissioner in Hongkong to discuss

possibilities of solution along these lines with

Hongkong government before he himself went South

on Tuesday next to meet Governor as suggested by

latter from London. What he wanted was some arrange-

ment by which adequate preventive measures could be taken inside ring of Hongkong waters before shipping

got out to open sea and he maintained that Hongkong,

being a free port, had not got and could not at

short notice train the staff necessary to do this

work. But after at first appearing opposed to such &

solution he finally admitted that some form of co-

operation on a fifty-fifty basis might possibly be

worked out in place of proposed agreement,

I made it clear to Maze that however negotiations

might be conducted proper procedure would be for any

agreement (if one were necessary) to be signed

between Minister for Foreign Affairs and myself, and

that government of Hongkong were aware of and fully

concurred in Foreign Office views on this,

Addressed to Foreign Office No. 163; repeated

to Peking No. 329 and nongkong.

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