Foreign Minister, sends the following reply to the several points raised by the British (Consul; With Tegard to first group of questions Mr. Chen writes. "Our Nationalist Government can on no account admit the right of the Hongkong Government to make these officious inquiries, With a view to avoiding misunderstandings in present circumstances I will reply to your questions that the answer is in the negative, and T have the honour to request that you will take note and inform the Governor of Hongkong."
With respect to Mr. Sun Fo's speech, Chen points out that "no matter' whether what appeared in the paper was or was not the speech of Mx. Sun. (this speech was probably a rejoinder to the statement in the speech of the Governor Hongkong concerning robbers and irates,') even if Mr, Sun actually did "make these statements, they y, te, as is quite obvious, only an pression of his personal opinions."
Hongkong Seeptical The Hongkong public. appears rather sceptical concerning the success of the Nationalist Government's proposed levy of n special consumption tax of 24 per cent, on ordinary imports and 5 per cent. on imported luxuries, together with special production' or producers' tax on exports, Local opinion seems to be that the question of Maritime Customs Sonetrns not only Great Britain but other Conference in ig to consider the practicability of permitting an increase in the duties or even granting China tariff autonomy, provided likin is abolished, So far the Conference has achieved nothing, Commenting on this plan, th "Hongkong Daily Press," write "Mr. Eugene Chen's letter has undoubtedly already been forwarded to Peking. There it will be eqpetully considered by the representatives ct the Powers concerned, and after they have consulted their various Gov ernments, a collective reply should be forwarded by the doyen of ths lomatie Corps. If that' reply is favourable to the Southern po-hey, we presume Col, Hayley-Bell, the Commissioner of Customs at Canton, will receive hig instructions accordingly and everything will be plain sailing, "tis a tremendous programme and Mr. Eugene Chen must have realized this when he drew it up,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.