Original semi-official letters from Jardine Matheson, Kobe, Kunming, Swatow and Taipei, to Jardine Matheson, Hong Kong, and copies of semi-official letters from Hong Kong to these offices, with enclosed letters and papers. Each section is preceded by an index.

1. Semi-official letters nos 157-178 from A. McDonald, Kobe, to D.F. Landale and J.J. Paterson, Hong Kong, 11 January-16 December 1939, and 116-127 from D.F. Landale and J.J. Paterson, Hong Kong, to A. McDonald, Kobe, 20 January-29 December 1939. The letters from Kobe enclose monthly business reports. The index contains the following entries:

A: Annual Accounts & Reports.

B: British Airways Overseas Corporation [British Overseas Airways Corporation].

C: Correspondence; Canadian Pacific Steamships Ltd.

F: Finance - Remittances.

I: Income Tax.

L: Letter from C-in-C.

M: A. McDonald.

R: Monthly Business Reports; Royal Insurance Co.

S: Staff Passages; Staff Salaries.

2. Semi-official correspondence between Haiphong/Kunming and Hong Kong:

a) Nos 1-4 from A. Urquhart, Haiphong, to D.F. Landale, Hong Kong, all 12 April 1939.

b) Nos 5-41 from A. Urquhart, Kunming, to D.F. Landale, Hong Kong, 17 April-7 December 1939

c) Nos 1-48 from D.F. Landale, Hong Kong, to A. Urquhart, Kunming, 19 April-29 December 1939.

No. 29 from Hong Kong, 20 September 1939, encloses a report by A.W. Robson on his visit to the Kunming branch of Jardine, Matheson & Co. Ltd. No. 41 from Hong Kong, 27 November 1939, encloses a copy of a Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce circular to exporters regarding the marketing of Chinese commodities in Yunnan.

The index contains the following entries:

A: Accommodation (Office); Agency (Kunming); Agency Report; Accounts - Overheads.

B: Burma Road; British India Steam Navigation Co. Ltd - Agency; British Airways Overseas Corporation.

C: Chun Ho; Cheong Fat Yuen; Canadian Pacific Railway Agency; China Gas & Foundry Co. Ltd; China Syndicate; China National Tea Corporation; Central Trust; Central Agency; Censorship; Communications; Correspondence; Codes & Coding; Chamber of Commerce; Chungking (Robson's Report).

D: Dinh-vu.

E: Ewo Cotton Mills - Sheetings; Ewo Mills - Agency; Exports; Ewo Brewery.

F: Fu Hua; Finance - General; Finance - Agency Cash Position; Finance - Remittances; French Indo-China.

H: Haiphong; Y.K. Han.

I: Indo-China - Haiphong, Transit Tax, Bills of Lading, General, Rumours, Passengers; Imports; Import Restrictions; Insurance; Inland Transport.

J: Jardine Engineering Corporation - General.

K: Kunming-Kweiyang - Chungking Highway.

M: Mails; E.R. Mackay; Ian Morrison.

N: D.L. Newbigging.

O: Office Accommodation; Ocean Shipping.

P: Political; P. & O. Agency.

R: Railways - Szechuan-Yunnan-Burma; A.W. Robson & His Report.

S: Subira Frères; Steel Brothers; Salaries; Oily Soong; T.V. Loong.

T: Tea - General; Trade in General; Trading with the Enemy; W.H. Ting; Z.T. Tsang.

U: A. Urquhart.

W: Wood Oil; P.E. Witham; A.R.J. White.

Y: Yunnan-Szechuan Board; K.S. Yao.

3. Semi-official letters nos 370-407 from M.J. Henderson, Swatow, to D.F. Landale, Hong Kong, 10 January-8 December 1939, and 318-358 from D.F. Landale, Hong Kong, to M.J. Henderson (mainly) and H.H. Tod, Swatow, 13 January-22 December 1939. The index contains the following entries:

A: Annual Accounts; Ah Kow.

B: British Consul; E.W. Bovill.

C: Compradore's Position; Compradore; China New Year Gratuity; Correspondence; Codes & Coding; H.B.M. Consul; Coming Chan.

D: Drawnwork Association.

E: Electrolux; Dr Ettinger.

F: Food Supplies, etc.; Finance.

G: General.

H: M.J. Henderson.

I: Indo-China; Indo-China - S.S. 'Fausang'; Income Tax.

K: Kakchioh Incident.

L: Local Situation.

M: Mails; E.L. McDougall.

P: Property - No. 4; Property - General; Property - Godowns; Political.

S: Swedish East Asiatic Co.; Staff - Exchanges Rates; Staff - Salaries; Staff - General; Chinese Staff; Sim Meah Pheaw; L.J. Stevenson.

T: H.H. Tod.

4. Semi-official correspondence between Hong Kong and Taipei. A new sequence of letter numbers was initiated during this year following the incorporation of Jardine, Matheson & Co. (Taiwan) Ltd on 21 March 1939.

a) Nos 210-213, 213 and 214-217 from B.E. Bolton and Clarence Griffin, Jardine, Matheson & Co. Ltd, Taipei, to D.F. Landale and J.J. Paterson, Hong Kong, 10 January-13 June 1939. There are two letters numbered 213, 21 February 1939 and 9 March 1939. The second letter has been renumbered 213a in another set of copies of these letters (J1/75/2). All the letters are addressed from Taihoku, with the exception of no. 212, from Taipei.

b) Nos 1-14 from B.E. Bolton, Jardine, Matheson & Co. (Taiwan) Ltd, Taihoku, to D.F. Landale, Hong Kong, 10 January-16 December 1939,

c) Nos 375-379 from D.F. Landale and J.J. Paterson, Hong Kong, to B.E. Bolton, Jardine, Matheson & Co. Ltd, Taipei, 2 February-5 April 1939

d) Nos 1-31 from D.F. Landale, Hong Kong, to B.E. Bolton, Jardine, Matheson & Co. (Taiwan) Ltd, Taipei, 5 April-25 November 1939.

The index contains the following entries:

A: Accounts.

B: B.E. Bolton.

C: Correspondence; Continentale Produkten-Gesellschaft.

E: Paul Ehrhardt.

F: Finance - New York.

G: German Business; C. Griffin.

H: Hamburg Business.

I: Income Tax; Insurance - War Risk; Insurance - Duck Feathers.

M: Marine Insurance.

P: Produce - General; Produce - Shipments to Germany.

R: Registration of New Company.

S: Staff - Local Leave.

T: Formosa Black Tea; Tea Commissions.