CO129-523-4 China- protection of Anglo-Chinese 13-11-1929 - 10-1-1931 — Page 21

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districts, but without any other powers or authority

whatsoever.

It is further sucrested that we should

lay down the stipulation that as regards nationality

British bom and British protected subjects of Chinese

race in Malaya should be accorded by the Chinese

authorities the same status and privileges which the

Dutch Government has already secured for Dutch

subjects of Chinese race.

There is no recognition of the one-sided nature

of these stipulations; for it is not to be supposed

that the Malayan Governments would expect our own

Consuls in China to be limited to the functions of

(the Souts) trade Commissioners, and it is stated that they cannot

possibly admit the claim that Chinese nationality law though shall prevail in Malaya w they demand that British

law shall prevail in China. it is, however, the

established policy of His Majesty's Government

gradually to abandon its one-sided "humiliating"

seek

privileges and only to such special rights as

"equal

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nations may expect to obtain from each other.

Our policy is, so far as we can, to regard China as a

civilized power, grunting her the treatment which

such a status implies but at the same time demanding

on her part that she shall observe the common

decencies and respect the established conventions of

intercourse between civilized peoples. Thus we cannot

bind the Chinese consuls in Malaya by a special and

humiliating restriction, but we can and ought to

protest firmly on each occasion when they break the

rules of the game. This is precisely what has

happened in the case of the consulate at Penang.

We have allowed the establishment of the Consulate

there; but, the consul having made an insul tine

resture against the Government of the Colony by

hal f-