CO129-521-13 Chinese Customs- proposed agreement with Hong Kong 27-8-1930 - 16-10-1930 — Page 255

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removing a legitimate source of grie-

vance as regards smuggling, and streng-

then the value to China of the foreign -

staffed Customs administration.

c) The agreement would confer important

benefits on the entrepot and transit

trade of Hongkong.

d) The smuggling is evidently a very serious

issue, which we should do well to pro-

vide against.

e) The deletion of the salt provisions in

the last Hongkong draft may have des-

troyed one of the strongest Chinese in-

centives to make the agreement.

f) The deletion of the clause as to free

carriage of mails from Article 5 is

also of importance to the Chinese.

g) The re-draft of Article 9 omits stipu-

lations as to bonded warehouses, to

which His Majesty's Government attach

importance, and involves other substan-

tial alterations.

h) It is difficult to see how the Chinese

can be expected to grant privileged

treatment to Hongkong manufactures.

1) The restriction of inland water pri-

vileges to the two Kwang provinces is

of little account in practice, and may

only lend colour to the theory that

China is divided into regional govern-

ments.

73)