CO129-556-13 Traffic in arms to China 6-1-1936 - 13-1-1937 — Page 45

NOX CONFIDENTIAL.

39

45

RECEIVED

30 NOV 1936

O. O. REGY

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONG KONG.

27th October, 1936.

28

Fo. - 4o.

f

219

Sir,

I have the honour to acknowledge receipt of

your Confidential despatch of 23rd July, 1936, on the subject of exports of arms and ammunition from this Colony to Macau, and to offer the following comments on the suggested restriction of the export, so far as concerns war material, to the Macau Government and its accredited representatives.

2.

There are in Macau two licensed dealers in

arms, and these two firms handle practically all the arms business of the port, including arms imported for the use of

the Macau Government. They cannot, nevertheless, be strictly

described as the accredited representatives of that Government. The present practice is to permit arms and ammunition of any kind to be exported to Macau on production of the import permit

issued by the Government of Macau. The sole result to be expected from the adoption of the stricter definition now suggested is that arms and ammunition would be imported to Macau, and probably through Hong Kong, on a through bill of lading, or with its transit status otherwise so established

that the Barcelona Convention on Freedom of Transit would

preclude any control by this Government.

With regard to the question raised in the third paragraph of your despatch regarding the holding of

3.

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

W.G.A. ORMSBY-GORE, P.C., M.P.

&C.,

&C.,

&C.