§ Mr. NUNNasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he has yet received the text of the Note from the Chinese Government in which they request the revision of our commercial agreement with China; to what treaties the Note refers; and whether it contains any indication of the direction in which alterations are required?
§ Sir J. SIMONThe Note refers to the Treaty of Tientsin of 1858 and the Commercial Treaty of 1902. It states that these treaties contain important provisions which have become out of date and that, in order to secure conformity with actual conditions, new and equal reciprocal treaties should be concluded.