CO129-582-5 Merchant Shipping Amendment Ordinance 1939 15-5-1939 - 22-1-1940 — Page 5

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+Archibald,

Swely?

NISA.

possible smuggling from Hong Kong, but

on balance the effect would seem to be

disadvantageous rather than advantageous to

the Chinese authorities, since it would prevent

the temporary diversion of trade to those

very few places in unoccupied China (if, indeed,

there are any worth speaking of) where it can

+ still be done. Sir Andrew Clark Kerr (see

enclosure to 8) advances the following reasons

against the introduction of the Ordinance:-

(1)

it would quite obviously

play into the hands of the Japanese

who are still anxious to stop all

trade between Hong Kong and unoccupied

China;

(2)

it would not materially

assist the Chinese Customs to suppress

smuggling from the Colony, since

such little smuggling as is still

done is apparently carried on by

junk;

(3)

it would, on general

grounds, be a retrograde step from

Hong Kong's point of view, presumably

since the endeavour must be to try

to open up ports to foreign trade,

as far as this is possible with the

Japanese occupation, rather than agree

to the contrary where it is not

really in the interests of either

the