CO129-585-5 Sino-Japanese conflict- shipping on Pearl River 3-1-1940 - 25-8-1940 — Page 46

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should be put on a fooling of equality as reganda numbers.

ons

From this it would appear that

Ja anese have no in-

tention of allowing unrestri ted freedom of navigation at

any ti

is regarde hampon, ir. Okazaki maid that the

Custom would not be pe witted to funotion there an it

Ite was used ɔy military trang orta and musply ships.

admitted that aurrerainl cargo was brought in by these

trane or tɛ and said that any such rgo would be placed

under Customs control. hippers would be required to send

to the Custom lists of all such oergo; the, would not be

pe maitted to more it overland but would be ra de to bring

it into Canton harbour by lighter and aas the Custoɑg

it is to be feared that such a myste wuld present many

o portunities for evasion and eggling

3.

As ex lained in my telegram No. 51 of April 15th

21

to His xoell nay the Governor of Mongkong, it appears to

me that, since the original arrangements for the navigation

of the yearl (iver were nade bilaterally or in consultation

with the Rongkong Governmatj a similar course should be

ado-ted in any modification of these arran maente and that

it is not open to the Japanese to amend them unilaterally.

I have therefore dused to th Javanese Consul-General

an interim reply (copy of which is enclosed) on these lines,

postponing further discussion until I am in receipt of the

views of the Hongkong Govermente

Vemo andum and

Appendix bristle with points requiring amend wat or elucid-

ation: I enclose a summry of the criticism offered by

the

here.

sentatives of the three British shipping firm

Paragraph 4 of the Memorandum, requiring British

voupels to comply with all regulations issued by the

hinese

authorities, is particularly objectionable, and could not

be accepted in is present vague form,