CO129-571-1 Sino-Japanese War- shipping 10-1-1938 - 24-12-1938 — Page 162

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strongly gradual resumption of navigation with careful

avoidance of all publicity. On November 1st I learnt

accidentally from Admiral Feng (to whom I had sent a member

Captain

of my staff to enquire what hope there was of allowing entrance

to vessels up to 13 feet, so as to permit coasting vessels

at half load to enter and clear) that General Yu Han-mou

intended to issue revised regulations immediately limiting

the draught of vessels to "7 feet at high water",

Cunninghame Graham was at Hong Kong, but I arranged to take

the Senior Naval Officer then at Canton (Lieutenant-Commander

V.P. McCarthy, R.N.) to see General Yu Han-mou the same

evening, when I repeated to him the conversation and arguments

made to General Wu Te-chen which I mentioned in the last

paragraph.

I told him, as I had told General Wu, that while

the

I was working in the British interests of Hong Kong-Canton

trade, navigation, within limits of course consistent with

the paramount (sic) importance of the safety of Canton, was

of the utmost importance to China. As a small instance;

Commissioner of Customs had told me that at a conservative

estimate it made a gain to China's revenue of a half million

dollars a month. I pointed out the considerations which gave

me a personal interest in the inviolability of the barrier

(see paragraph 1 above). I reiterated that any advice I

gave him about draughts was derived from Jane's Fighting

Ships, and the opinions expressed were given in the same good

faith as I would given them to my own Government. General

Ya Han-mou's attitude, which was at first frankly hostile

and which I have described at the end of paragraph 3 above

gradually improved and concluded with a promise that no new

regulations would be issued, at any rate at present, and that

meanwhile he would consider what further modifications of

existing regulations (Enclosure 1) were possible...

In the

course