CO129-558-11 Mission of Sir F. Leith-Ross to China- proposals for a Hong Kong - China customs... 29-9-1936 - 30-12-1936 — Page 42

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(Fredrick M

Maze, the

received by the Hong Kong Government from Sin

Inspector General of the Chinese Maritime Customs, regarding

the willingness of the former to reopen negotiations for a

Customs Agreement on the lines of the 1930 draft;

and a

favourable reply was sent to him with the approval of His

Majesty's Government. It is thought that it would be

better to aim at such an Agreement as an objective rather

at than a

difficult to bring about would involve a serious breach

a Customs Union which would probably prove extremely

and

with the tradition and development of Hong Kong as a free

o financial

a

port, and commercial centre, endangering the great economic

advantages of that status without assurance of adequate

return end would almost certainly raise very difficult

questions of international law.

COLONIAL OFFICE.

November, 1936.

Way.

8 X