Mr. J.K. Swire, on a visit to Peking, discussed various questions in which Butterfield and Swire are interested with His Majesty's Minister 14th. June 1930.
(Mr. Teichman was also present. )
HONG KONG CUSTOMS AGREEMENT.
Mr. Swire referred to the fact that opinion at home (China Association, etc.) was solidly in favour of the agreement, while most of the people in the Colony followed the local Government (and Mr. Southorn) in what he seemed to regard as the short- He then handed to sighted and narrow policy of opposing it. His Majesty's Minister a letter and memorandum by Mr. Shaw (the memorandum having been submitted to the Colonial Secretary at Hong Kong) upholding the agreement and arguing that even without Artiole 5 (inland navigation facilities) and Article 10 (Factory Mr. Swire products taxation privileges), it should be concluded. wanted to know whether His Majesty's Minister agreed with the views expressed by Mr. Shaw in the memorandum, namely that the best interests of the Colony would be served by the speedy conclusion
of the agreement.
Sir Miles Lampson said that originally he had been in favour of the agreement, or at least of treating the Customs question strictly on its merits without reference to the privileges sought under Articles 5 and 10, which he quite realised the Chinese would never concede. But the more he thought about it the less he liked the idea of setting up a Chinese Customs Administration in the Colony and assimilating its status to that of a Treaty Port. With all this Kuomintang trouble in the South Seas and
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