CO129-559-13 Sir A. Caldecott- visit to Canton 13-9-1936 - 26-11-1936 — Page 24

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of cheerfulness in Hong Kong; everybody was pleased by it and by the

way in which it went off. It certainly also met with the grateful

appreciation of the visitors themselves; the telegrams and letters

received from the Chairman and Mayor in acknowledgment of our

hospitality reflect a pleasure which was obviously genuine. It

would indeed have been a serious omission not to have made the

contact that has been made with the new regime in Kwangtung. At

the same time it would be stupid to ignore the fact that the

Chinese conception of cooperation is to do the receiving while the

other cooperator does the giving. I am not unduly disturbed

therefore by their recent resuscitation of the claim to jurisdiction

within Kowloon City, which I am reporting in a separate despatch; it

merely requires to be rejected. But the resurrection of the

question at this juncture typifies the natural Chinese reaction to

a call for cooperation - 'let us see what we can get out of it'.

It is a businesslike, if not a generous, reaction; and the value

of the visit will be measured by the number of cases in which

Hong Kong and British traders find themselves able to do a deal

with Cantonese clients. A friendly atmosphere has been achieved

for such bargainings and a favourable soil; all that the Hong Kong

Goverment can now do is to keep the soil watered and the

atmosphere warm and to hope and watch for the growth of a harvest.

I have the honour to be,

اسا

Sir,

Your most obedient, humble servant,

A Caldecot

Governor, &c.