(1 Enclosure)
No.405
(an three copies)
Copy to Sub-Legation,
Crown Advocate, Hongkong,
Commercial Counsellor
No. 87.
British Consulate-General,
Shanghai.
24th November, 1934.
58
Sir,
Shortly after the receipt of Mr. Howe's semi-official
letter of October 11th, the British American Tobacco Company's
legal representative, Mr. D.M. Oppenheim, called to see me about
getting permission to omit the characters ying shang (British
merchants) from the Chinese names of their newly incorporated
companies.
2.
After some discussion I pointed out to him that the
clause requiring the use of these characters had been inserted
in the Companies Ordinance for the purpose of distinguishing
British from Chinese corporate bodies, both of which could use
the word "limited". The intention was partly to notify the
Chinese public and officials that the firms concerned were under
foreign jurisdiction, but chiefly, I thought, to protect British
business from the supposed danger of having Chinese limited
companies mistaken for British. Exemption licences were only
intended to be granted sparingly to companies with old
established "hong" names, which were well known to be British.
What
3. It seems that the boot is now on the other leg.
with the rise of nationalist and anti-foreign feeling and the
"buy
His Majesty's Minister,
British Legation,
PEKING.
i
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