902
CANTON
left hurriedly on board H.M.S. Moorhen on August 9th to catch an "Empress" li to Shanghai. Chen remained in Kwangtung, as Commander-in-Chief of the For and his nominee, Chan Chik-yue, a merchant of Hongkong, was appointed C Governor in September. Early in January, 1923, Dr. Sun's sympathisers sent a feb composed of Kwangsi and Yunnanese soldiers to invade Kwangtung, and, owing the supineness of naval units and the poor resistance offered by the disaffec Cantonese troops, Canton quickly fell into their possession. Chen retired bo Waichow; the Civil Governor had fled some days previously to Hongkong. remained in possession throughout the year and also throughout 1924, despite the f that his occupation was continually menaced not only by the presence in the E River region of a considerable hostile force under Chen Chiung-ming, which repea efforts by Sun had failed to disperse, but likewise by formidable opposition to régime on the part of the merchant class in the city and surrounding distri provoked by oppressive taxation. In these circumstances, the ranks of the Mercha Volunteer Corps--which had been formed with Government approval some ye before, with a view to ensuring greater security against plunder by pirates-increas to very large dimensions and Sun began to see in it a serious menace to his authori When a large consignment of arms and ammunition, imported under Government p mit, was seized by Dr. Sun's orders there was open revolt by the merchants. Busing was entirely suspended for several days and was only resumed on Sun promising release the arms. There was great delay, however, in fulfilling the promise, and pub feeling became highly incensed against Dr. Sun, who finally gave orders to his troc for the suppression of the revolt and the annihilation of the Volunteer Corps. Acco ingly, on October 15th the whole commercial district of Saikwan, which the volu teers had barricaded for defence, was surrounded by Sun's overwhelming forces. The was desperate fighting in the streets for several hours. Incendiary gangs assisted t Government forces, and several hundred houses were destroyed by fire. Within abc twenty-four hours the Volunteers were dispersed and the revolt was suppresse Trustwortly figures as to the casualties in this conflict are not obtainable, but conservative estimate puts the casualties in the neighbourhood of a thousand, wh the material damage done was estimated at about $20,000,000. After the affray S mulcted the merchants in heavy fines. This did not promote happier relations, a when Sun Yat-sen departed in November to participate in the conferences for t re-establishment of peace and good government in China, it brought a great sen of relief in business circles though little improvement was noticeable in the admin tration of Canton under Mr. Hu Han-min down to the end of the year.
Another disgraceful episode of the year was a dastardly attempt to assassinal M. Merlin the Governor-General of Indo-China. The French community were ente taining His Excellency at a dinner in the Victoria Hotel on the Shameen on the nig of June 19th, when an Annamite threw a bomb into the room through the oper window. Though the assassin missed his mark, he succeeded in killing five Frenc residents and seriously injuring others. The miscreant himself was drowned in th river while trying to evade capture.
Early in January, 1925, Sun Yat-sen, while still attending the Peace Conference Peking, was reported to be seriously ill and on March 12th, news of his death was receive in Canton. Hostilities commenced between the Kuomintang forces and those of Che Chiung-ming in February. Under General Chiang Kai-shek who commanded th Russian instructed and officered Whampoa Cadets, remarkable progress was mad along the East River and Swatow was finally captured. The troops of Chen's parti were utterly demoralized and retreated to the borders of Kiangsi and Fukien. Durin the absence of the Cantonese armies, however, the Yunnanese and Kwangsi troops unde General Yang Hsi-min and Liu Chen-huan returned from the East River front t Canton, where, declaring that the Kuomintang party was introducing Bolshevi principles, they seized the city north of the river, the Houam quarter south of th river remaining in the hands of General Li Fuk-lam, who remained faithful to th Kuomintang cause. Hu Han-min, the Civil Governor, fled to Whampoa. On th return of the army from Swatow a battle took place in which General Chiang Ka shek's cadets with the help of their Russian leaders crossed the river and signall defeated the Yunnanese and Kwangsi soldiers in the streets of Canton. With thei entry into the city it appeared only too evident that Bolshevism had become the polici of the Kuomintang. Especially against the British and Hongkong, which had bee believed by the Kuomintang to be sympathetic not only to the Chen Chiung-ming but also to the Yunnanese and Kwangsi parties, was a bitter propaganda directed The intensity of anti-foreign feeling expressed, combined with atrocities against the