CO129-521-12 Chinese Customs- proposed agreement with Hong Kong 2-4-1930 - 16-6-1930 — Page 95

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PARAPHRASE TELEGRAM from the Officer Administering the Government of

Hong Kong to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

ated 28th April Received Colonial Office 12.48.p.m. 28th April, 1930.)

Addressed to Secretary of State for the Colonies No. 21. Repeated to Nanking No. 5. Copy to Consul General Canton.

Agreement.

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104

Customs

Minister's telegrams to Foreign Office 204 15th April and

21 of 22nd April. No objection to agreement being between China and H.M. Government if this considered to be more correct course.

So far as Hong Kong is concerned the only real reason for Agreement is to avoid friction with China and to fulfil moral obliga- tions to assist friendly neighbour state but Hong Kong cannot be expected lightly to allow a foreign Government to exercise within its territory almost sovereign rights without adequate beneficial counter balance of inherent political dangers of such a concession.

If agreement is not acceptable to China in its present form I should be prepared to discuss alternative proposals on lines set out in my secret telegram of the 20th February but I should prefer before doing so to await receipt of information regarding West Indian and

7) Canadian measures promised in your telegram of the 19th March.

I feel

that help should be obtainable from study of the way in which West

With a view to making progress Indies have handled a similar problem.

on these lines Maze might authorise his representative here to discuss alternate scheme. This might well be pursued before Maze again visits Hong Kong. I consider it most important that negotiations should take place at Hong Kong which is place vitally interested and not in Shanghai H.M. Minister's representative being associated in the dis- cussions, but it is immaterial to this Colony whether Maze comes him- self or entrusts negotiations to a representative.