10.
124
understand that any legislation designed to make
it more difficult for companies which are mibetantially
Chinese to incorporate under British law is likely to
be strenuously opposed at least by some of the local
legal fraternity, an ostensible ground for such opposi- tion being that the prediliction of Chinese to incorporate
under British w enhances our prestige and should be His Majesty's Consul-General informs me
encouraged.
however, that one of the leading local British lawyers
has frankly admitted to him the interest of the Bar
Association from the point of view of the incomes of
the members, as the tightening up of control and a
restriction on the number of companies subject to Bri-
tish jurisdiction would mean a reduction of the fees
earned by local lawyers. I venture to suggest that
neither the alleged enhancement of British prestige by
the means in question, nor the emoluments of local British lawyers, are matters which need be taken into
consideration in connection with the proposed amendment a
of the law relating to British companies in China, but I see no reason why such legislation, if and when it
is drafted, should not be communicated to the British
Bar Association before it is finally approved: on
the contrary, I am inclined to think that, in spite of
the obvious personal interest of the members in any
such measure, the submission to them of the proposed
legislation in draft form might elicit unbiased observa-
tions derived from their experience which would
/ enable
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.