CO129-589-1 Sino-Japanese War- shipping on Pearl River 26-1-1941 - 17-6-1941 — Page 49

COPY FOR REGISTRATION

CYPHER TELEGRAM

12:

53838/24/41

FROM

0.A.G.

HONG KONG

D. 14th March, 1941.

11

R. 14th

09.30 hrs.

Reculve

IMPORTANT

No. 199

in

and

49

Thrale I

R⚫gistry 14 MAR :941

Addressed to C.0. 13th March repeated to Shanghai

No.70, Canton No.30, Tokyo No. 30.

9.

Your telegram No. 207 Important.

Apart from our need of Japanese ocean tonnage prohibition of shipping generally as suggested by Warren Swire is of course impossible so long as Article No.6 of 1911 Treaty remains in force.

Canton telegrams of 9th March and 10th March to the Foreign Office correctly described the present position. If the suspension of the Pearl River Agreement is, as auggested by me, effected by mutual consent of British and Japanese Consulates in Canton there will be no question of British prohibition here.

Except for slight convenience to a few passengers who must otherwise travel via Macao, existing service of Japanese "Transports", which allow of no cargo except supplies for Shameen, is of little benefit to Hong Kong. S.S. FATSHAN has not availed itself of its rights under the agreement since 6th February and then only at the request of the Consul General at Canton.

Questions now at issue are partly a final decision on Japanese pilot fees amount of which is possibly susceptible to negotiation; but chiefly Japanese insistence on coupling such negotiation with the agreement whereby we should sacrifice all independent action in the handling of cargo if and when the existing total prohibition of such traffic is removed.

H.M Ambassador

This point was specially referred to *(corrupt group) who now telegraphs in his No.85 to me that he does not consider insistence on this principle of sufficient general importance to suspend the agreement if this would be detrimental to Hong Kong's interest. As stated above Hong Kong gets little benefit under the conditions but if there were any real prospects of general resumption of trade between here and Canton we should naturally view this very differently. By general resumption I should mean not only the absence of vexatious restrictions for allegedly military reasons on numerous classes of merchandise but also the removal of tonnage restrictions now maintained under the Blunt Okazaki Agreement.

*Repetion asked for.

Ic seat to Mr Gent

Mr James

24s

.

Swn (4.0.) (13)