CO129-549-14 Commission of Enquiry into trade of Colony 17-7-1934 - 18-1-1935 — Page 11

I agree. The maintenance of long kong as a

prosperous mercantile centre under ritish Control

must bring indirect benefits to financial and

shipping interests in this country over and

above that shewn in the returns of im orts

into Hong Kong from the .K. urther, there is

no danger of Hong kong departing from its tradi-

tional policy to the extent of fostering local

manufactures by the imposition of protective

tariffs; and I cannot believe that the interests

of this country as a whole are going to be ser-

iously prejudiced by the limited production of

cheap shoes of which the local industry is

capable without gov rnment as-istance.

#Rlowell

21.11.34

This is certainly of some interest.

I had a discussion some time ago with Mr. Beale

who is, I think, Commercial Secretary attached

to the Embassy in China. He was very pessimistic

indeed about Hong Kong and said that Shanghai

was a place of incomparably greater commercial

and financial liveliness. He seemed to

attribute the decline of Hong Kong more to the

easygoing habits and traditions of the place

than to any definite economic handicaps from

which it was suffering. I do not think that

from a long distance point of view the idea of

industrial development in Hong Kong has much to

be said for it. The probability seems to be

that there will be a very great industrial and

commercial development in China proper in the

course of the next ten or twenty years, and

that the real possibilities for Hong Kong lie

in