2
Canton vernacular press naturally fulminated, and the action of Government was subjected to much hostile criticism in the English local press by writers who were ignorant of the real issues involved.
6. I fully informed His Majesty's Ambassador at Tokió of all these circum- stances. It had seemed to me that the information that the riots here had been organized from Canton would have been sufficient to have enabled the Japanese to have brought direct pressure to bear upon the Chinese Governuent, and I was therefore somewhat surprised to receive your Lordship's telegram-of which the despatch under reply is in amplification-that the Japanese Minister appeared to be under the impression that this Government had not done as much as it might have done towards the suppression of illegal methods of promoting the boycott. My own view was frankly that more had been done here than the Japanese could have expected, and that the Japanese Government had itself done somewhat less on the information supplied to them than they might have done.
7. The Kwansi ("Kom Sz") Society is, as far as I can ascertain, hardly an organized Society. It is rather a name under which leaders of the boycott movement have issued threatening letters. It has no connection with the Revolutionary party, whose sympathies, inasmuch as the arms carried by the "Tatsu Maru" were destined for revolutionaries, might be expected to be with Japan.
Should the Society, however, give evidence of living organization, I shall take what steps may be possible to deal with it. It is of course out of the power of this Government to deal with the Self-government Society ("Jichi") of Canton.
8. I inclose an extract from a Report of the 28th January, 1909, by the Consul- General at Canton to His Majesty's Minister at Peking on present conditions in Canton.* The Report contains a full account of the Self-government Society.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
F. D. LUGARD.
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
CHINA TRADE.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[11543]
No. 1.
C.0.
13949
127
[March 26.]
REC
REGP 24 APR 09
SECTION 2.
Mr. Whitelaw Reid to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received March 26.)
Sir,
American Embassy, Loudon, Maren 24, 1909. I HAVE the honour to inform you that our Legation at Peking was advised by the Chinese Foreign Office on the 28th December, 1908, that China, in order to revise her financial system, desired to implement the Treaty provisions regarding the increase of the Tariff and the abolishing of the li-kin, and to this end had requested the foreign Ministers at Peking that each Government should appoint an official to consult with the Wai-wu Pu with respect to this subject.
My Government sympathizes with this desire on the part of China and considers that the realization thereof would be beneficial to foreign commerce, and I therefore would be glad to be informed whether His Majesty's Government intend to take any steps in regard to this proposal.
I venture to add that a similar inquiry will be made by our Ambassadors at Paris, Berlin, and St. Petersburgh of the Governments to which they are respectively accredited.
I have, &c. (Signed)
WHITELAW REID.
20%
* Not printed.
[2188 cc-2]