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73)
Mr. Wilford
I am not sure if you have seen Hong Kong telegram No. 647 although I see that No. 648 has been copied to you. I attach
a copy of the first telegram.
You will not be surprised to see that the Governor is
dissatisfied with the instruction, we gave him for the Canadian textile negotiations.
Although the talks will begin on Monday we have no hope
of reaching a new agreement with the Board of Trade over the
weekend: it would be impossible to mount in time another such
meeting as yesterday's. Moreover at first sight of their
telegram Hong Kong has not, in my opinion, used any new
arguments of the sort likely to impress the Board of Trade.
Their points will need closer examination but so far as their
first eleven paragraphs are concerned they do no more than
revive the differences of opinion between the Hong Kong
Government and Industries I BOT, to which we have listened in the past ad nauseam. We think in this department that Hong Kong's judgment of these issues is at least as good as Industries', and that events may show this, but that will not
help us now.
The new matters in the telegram are in paragraphs 12 and
13. In paragraph 12 I would say that the Governor was making
a last, and not very optimistic plea for licence to reach agreement ad referendum, and unless we answer him in time Jordan may presume that he has that licence. Incidentally he also misinterprets perhaps by design the suggestion that Mr. Hughes should join in discussions with the Canadians on
22 September. But that is not an urgent matter.
In paragraph 13 is new material open I think to some misunderstanding in the Board of Trade. This question was
touched upon at our meeting yesterday but not closely explored.
It needs to be spelt out more clearly and I will try to do this
by Monday.
I suggest
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