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Hongkong, 24th October, 1925.
Confidential.
SIR,
Now that our daily life is once more pursuing its even tenor, and while recent events are still fresh in my mind, I have thought it useful to place before the Government a record of our experi- ences of the past four and a half months, and to estimate the effectiveness of the measures adopted by the Government, so that should a similar emergency arise here again, we would be in a better position to deal with it. I will not try to arrange the events of this period in chronological order, or attempt a history of the Strike "; it will be enough to refer to its cause and the damage it has done us, and to describe and examine a number of the more important measures taken to counteract its effects.
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Part I.
THE STRIKE: ITS CAUSES AND EFFECTS.
Cause.
2. The strike was undoubtedly caused by a Bolshevist intrigue in Canton, conducted with the avowed object of destroying the economic life of Hongkong. That this was the Chinese view is shown by the resolution passed by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce and the Association of the Twenty-four Mercantile Guilds on the 10th August, 1925, and subsequently transmitted to the Secretary of State for the Colonies through His Excellency the Governor. These resolutions have doubtless helped to place the situation in true perspective for the better understanding of the Home Government.
Commencement.
3. The Shanghai shooting incident occurred on the 30th May, 1925, but there was no threat of a strike in Hongkong until the fighting in Canton between the Yunnanese and the Kuomintang party had nearly ended. This fighting continued from the beginning of June to the 12th, on which day the Yunnanese were routed; and with the report of that defeat came persistent rumours of an approaching general strike in Hongkong.
4. While fighting was going on in Canton, Sun Fo, C. C. Wu and Foo Ping-sheung were in the Colony; and the Hon. Mr. Chow Shou-son and I were able to arrange for the Hon. Mr. D. W. Tratman and Mr. A. G. M. Fletcher to meet them at dinner in my house one evening. It was made quite clear beforehand that the meeting was purely private and had no official significance. whatsoever. The meeting promoted such a friendly feeling on both sides that the next day Mr. Chow Shou-son and I found no difficulty in persuading these three Canton officials to endeavour to prevent the strike. This action did delay, though it did not