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3. Ts'en Ch'un-hsüan to remain in charge of the railway bureau for the eight Southern provinces; the Civil Governors of these provinces to be nominated by the South; Wu Pei-fu to be Shantung Tuchun, and Ts'ao K'un to be Inspector-General of Chihli, Shantung, Honan, and Sheusi.
4. The two Parliaments to hold joint session to draw up the Constitution and theu
to be dissolved.
As these terms presuppose the complete overthrow of the Anfu and Yunnanese Parties, an unlikely event under present conditions, modifications will have to be introduced if they are to form the basis of a lasting peace.
Parliament, though reduced to the ridiculously small number of ninety, has continued to sit at intervals. The members simply act at the bidding of the Military Government, and beyond the dismissal of Sun Yat-Sen, T'ang Shao-yi and Wu T'ing-fang have accomplished nothing. It is stated in the press, however, that there are now in Canton some 270 members of Parliament, many of whom have been waiting in Hong Kong to see if Wu Ting-fang's Shanghai Government was going to succeed.
With a view to prosecuting the anti-Japanese boycott the students have formed a native goods association, and have worked out an elaborate procedure for examining goods. Few firms have joined the association, of which the activities are restricted by the police, and the Chinese chambers of commerce will have nothing to do with the
movement.
During the occupation of the Yunnan troops opium dens were opened and protected by them. On their departure, however, the local police made a series of raids, as a result of which all the dene have been closed.
It is proposed by the Kuangsi Government to establish a mint at Wuchow on the site of the antimony bureau, and 1,000,000 dollars will be advanced towards the construction of buildings and machinery, of which the Government hopes to instal sufficient to turn out 15,000 to 20,000 dollars per day worth of 20-cent coins.
Chengtu.
There has seldom been so complicated a political situation in Szechuan as that of the past quarter; leading men like General Tau Mou-hsing were at times no less baffled by it than the mere lookers on.
Before giving a brief outline of the events of April, May and June, if would be well, perhaps, to indicate the attitude of the various Szechuan divisions at the outset. Pro-Hsiung were 1st and 3rd divisions, with possibly a brigade in the 2nd and 5th respectively. The 7th division was openly against the Military Governor, the 6th neutral, while the 4th and 8th were unknown quantities. The eventual decision of Liu Yu-Chiu, general of the 4th division, is likely to prove a vital factor in the fighting. Hsiung's position at the end of March appeared thus anything but secure.
The first leader to abandon him was General Shih Ch'ing-yang, of the hitherto neutral 6th division. By the middle of April Shih had leagued the 6th, 5th and 2nd divisions against the Military Governor, who, seeing himself almost encircled by enemies, resigned his position, and sent his family into hiding. From this point until the 22nd May, when hostilities actually began, followed a period of characteristic Chinese shifting, in which General Lin, of the 4th division, continued to wobble without committing himself. Meanwhile Hsiung, induced by the Canton Government to retain his position, had determined to defend Chengtu.
A mistake on the part of Tang Chi-yao had the effect of ranging the zad, 5th and 8th divisions on the Governor's side; even Liu Yu-chiu himself made up his mind at last and joined Hsiung During the early stages of the war the Szechuan troops were every where successful, and had the leaders remained loyal the Yunnan and Kueichow troops would have been cleared out of the province, but the treachery of the 5th and 6th divisions has made the Military Governor'a task an uphill one. At the end of June a terrific struggle was in progress around Lungch'ang, on the result of which Heiung's fortunes may depend.
His Majesty's consul's summing up of the situation might well be quoted ;~-
"The situation remains full of interest, and I can never remember a time when I felt so utterly at a loss to foresee an issue, though I emphatically do not share the general opinion held here that Hsiung Ko-wu will win in the end. The Szechuan troops have not the grit of the men from Yunnan and Kueichow, neither are they so well led."
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The attacks begun during the preceding quarter on Mr. P. Smith, the postal An article in the "Echo de Chine" accuses commissioner here, have been renewed.
bim, quite falsely, of granting a monopoly of appointments to Young Men's Christian Association students, simply because the postal commissioner suggested to that institution they might have a class for training prospective postal employees, chiefly for the lower grades.
As an inevitable result of the war there has been a perfect orgy of brigandage; north of Chen_tu whole districts are stripped bare. While hostilities last, robber bands, many
of whom are quite well-disciplined, will continue to terrorise the already sorely stricken populace at will.
Nanking
During the past quarter brigandage has raged to such an extent in Kiangsu that at two places, Feng Hsien and P'ei Hsien, the magistrates dare not venture outside their respective cities. Along the Shantung border robber bands have committed outrages with impunity, killing, wounding and carrying off hostages, undisturbed by the gendarmerie. The latter, it is asserted, often made common cause with the depredators.
Stringent measures continue to be taken against the introduction of Bolshevism into Kiangsu. Teachers have instructions to find out new ideas imbibed by the students, and in industrial areas enquiries are made as to whether the working classes are being stirred by agitators. Three Bolshevist newspapers, reported to be circulating in Shanghai, were quickly suppressed.
The student agitation, revived again at the beginning of April, died away, thanks From the to the tactful attitude of the authorities, without any disturbing events. general ineffectiveness of the students throughout the quarter it seems that the movement is practically at an end, although the boycott continues to be fairly strictly maintained.
The reduction of expenditure mentioned in the summary for the March quarter is being steadily enforced by Li Shun, in spite of protests from his magistrates, who declare that if their civil establishments are reduced any more they will find it impossible to make both ends meet.
In consequence of the lower price of copper, the Nanking Mint has turned out an increased number of coins-chiefly 10-cash pieces, of which 300,000,000 were ordered by the Financial Commissioner alone. The Mint denies that it produced the light- weight copper coins recently found to be in circulation, and suggested that they came either from Hupeh or from Japan.
Instructions have been received from Peking that universal free education is to be gradually introduced during the years 1921-28, beginning with the provincial capital and treaty ports. At present no more than 10 per cent, of the children of school age attend school. The Nanking Police Commissioner, however, who is anxious to further education, has established in the city twenty-five free schools for poor people, ench school designed to accommodate thirty studenta.
The co-education of girls and boys has not yet won the approval of the Provincial Assembly; one member asserted that it would reduce mankind to the level of beasts, while another opponent objected to it even for children under 12.
Since the incident of gaol breaking on a large scale from the Shanghai Model Prison, steps have been taken to reform the administration. All higher prison officials are to be examined as to their qualifications, and those below a certain standard will be discharged unless they agree to undergo a course of training. But it is the prisoners awaiting trial whose treatment calls most loudly for reform; these unfortunate creatures are frequently imprisoned for years without their case being heard, and receive treat- ment almost as harsh as that of convicted criminals.
In the course of several sessions the Provincial Assembly tackled many questions, the most interesting amongst which were the Japanese demands and the students' strike. With regard to the first question, the anti-Japanese feeling in the Assembly was so strong that its members formally protested against the chartering by the Kiangsu salt merchants of a Japanese steamer to carry salt from Haichow to various Yangtsze ports. The students were commended for their feeling by the Assembly, but at the same time urged to leave politics to their elders, and serve the State by completing their education. It was largely as a result of this advice that the strike came to an end.
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