CO129-571-1 Sino-Japanese War- shipping 10-1-1938 - 24-12-1938 — Page 165

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I returned to Canton on November 5th, to be informed on

November 6th that once again, in spite of promises, the

regulations were to be issued on November 8th, and personal

reference by me to the Secretary at Military Headquarters

(in General Yu's absence) merely resulted in a curt refusal

to reconsider action! At my request the Special Delegate

for Foreign Affairs, however, contrived to see General Yu

and gave me the verbal message reported in my telegram

No. 117 to Nanking of November 6th (No. 131 to Peking).

Such however is the lack of co-ordination between the

various civil and military offices at Canton that, under

date of November 6th, the Mayor's office issued through the

Senior Consul to the foreign Consuls, for enforcement as

from November 10th, the Regulations which form Enclosure

2; that on November 8th Admiral Feng's representative

called upon the Commissioner of Customs about practical

measures to put the regulations into force, and, it was

only by further representations through the Special Delegate

for Foreign Affairs that the Commissioner of Customs received

the written instructions to which I referred in paragraph 1

of this despatch (1.8. that the temporary postponement of

these regulations has been approved).

15. As opportunity offers, I am carefully attempting

to extend the draught tacitly permitted to 13 feet (see

my telegram No. 117 under reference). It will allow the

coastal vesselɔ of Messrs. Butterfield & Swire to load at

least 1000 tons per vessel, and would much assist China's

trade, although at present of no great importance, I

understand, to British shipping interests, since freights

are plentiful.

16. With the question of restrictions on the navigation

of British gunboats, I have not dealt. It will be seen that

they