CO129-529-4 China- extraterritoriality 23-11-1931 - 31-12-1931 — Page 139

This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be

returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.]

139

TO CHINA.

Cypher telegram to Sir M. Lampson (Nanking).

Foreign Office.

No. 49 (Tour).

3rd April, 1931.

•

•

12.50 p.m.

94

• +

• •

(40)

Your telegram No. 42 Tour, paragraph 21 (of March 14th) and my telegram No. 35 Tour, paregraph 12 (of March 20th

extraterritoriality).(59)

1. It is important to maintain the paragraph relating

to shipping as at present worded. You may however omit the

words "as heretofore" and also substitute "Chinese armed

military authority" for "Chinese military or other armed

authority". You may insert sentence relating to maritime

customs and substitute in two places "with the consent of

the captain of the vessel or of the officer in charge"

for "by agreement with the captain".

2. The intention of the article is that for purposes

of safeguarding the revenue and similar matters, the

Chinese customs should have over British vessels substantial-

ly the same control that our customs in practice exercise

over vessels British or foreign.

3. As regards cabotage, you can assure Dr. Wang that

the article as drafted has no effect whatever one way or

the other.

4:

By virtue of the extraterritorial clauses in the existing treaties, the privileges hitherto enjoyed by British vessels in Chinese waters, except for the substitu- tion of British for Chinese courts, have been substantially the same as those accorded by international usage and courtesy to the vessels of a foreign country in the waters of another state. It is important, therefore, in order to re-assure public opinion in this country and it is also not unreasonable that the Chinese should agree to maintain these privileges during the transitionary period about to be established by the treaty now under negotiation, If this is done we may expect that ultimately the established practice in China will come to be the same as that in other countries.