CO129-571-1 Sino-Japanese War- shipping 10-1-1938 - 24-12-1938 — Page 134

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despatch under reference.

I had proposed to ignore these

regulations, but I learnt by chance from the Mayor's Office

that, in connection with another matter, my failure to reply

had been interpreted as tacit acquiescence. I therefore wrote

to Dr. Tyau on November 29th pointing out that, under Article

52 of the Treaty of Nanking, the right of British warships

to visit all ports in China is clearly defined, and saying

that, while, during the present crisis, the British Naval

Authorities at Canton have complied, and intend to comply,

as far as possible with regulations issued for the safety

of Canton and its neighbourhood, such compliance is without

prejudice to any abrogation of the treaty rights of British

vessels of war.

7.

That such a warning was eminently necessary was illustrated a few days later when H.M.S. "Seamew" came up

to Canton direct from Macao. On this occasion, the usual

procedure was followed whereby the Chinese naval authorities

were notified by telephone of the time at which H.M. S. "Seamew"

would pass Bocca Tigris and were requested to hold a pilot in

readiness. The naval authorities replied that they knew

nothing of the new regulations and referred me to the office of

the Special Delegate, who requested that notification of the movements of H.M.S. "Seamew" should be sent in writing so that

they might transmit the information to the office of the

Pacification Commissioner, who, after he had given his permission for His Majesty's Ship to come up river, would so inform the

Canton River Defence Bureau. I was requested to inform the

Senior Naval Officer, West River, and the captain of the ships under his command, that this procedure should be followed in

all future cases. I told Dr. Tyau that I was quite unable to

entertain any such arrangement, and that, while the movements

of H.M. Ships would continue to be communicated to the local

Chinese/