34
et du droit international, vous êtes résolu à considérer les étrangers comme étant hors la loi.
pas
Les résolutions que votre Gouvernement prendra à cet égard seront d'une importance exceptionnelle. Représentant d'un pays profondément pacifique, entouré d'officiers dont le plus vif désir est d'éviter toute effusion de sang, je ne refuserai d'envisager, d'accord avec vous, toute proposition susceptible d'apporter à cet incident si grave une solution à la fois modérée et compatible avec l'honneur national de la France Dans l'intérêt supérieur de l'humanité, et afin d'empêcher le retour d'attentats qui nous obligeraient à user, à regret, de tous les moyens de répression dont nous dispos je vous conjure, M. le Gouverneur civil, et les autres membres du Gouvernement, de na rien négliger pour ramener le calme dans les esprits et pour aboutir à un arrangement rapide.
[F 3743/194/10]
ANNEY VII.
Veuillez, &c.
J. LEURQUIN,
Consul de France.
Consul-General Sir J. Jamieson to Mr. Austen Chamberlain.—(Received August 7 | (No. 7.) Sir,
Canton, June 29, 1925. WITH reference to the local political situation, I have the honour to enclose herewith a copy of despatch No. 50 to His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Peking, dated the 29th June, 1925.
(No. 50.) Sir,
Enclosure 1.
I have, &c.
J. W. JAMIESON.
Consul-General Sir J. Jamieson to Mr. Palairet.
Canton, June 29, 1925. HAVING reference to my telegram No. 14 of the 27th instant, I have now the honour to transmit the translation of the joint letter addressed by the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs to my French colleague and myself, in which certain demands are presented to the Governments of Great Britain and Francs by that of Kuangtung, as a result of the unfortunate affair which took place on Shakee on the 23rd instant.
"
2. As to the so-called proofs therein brought forward by which it is sought to establish that fire was first opened from Shameen, I would remark that statement No. 1 except for the words the fusillade began from Shameen," is substantially correct So are the first three sentences of statement No. 2. Statement No. 3 is a plausible and natural
argument from the Chinese point of view, whereas statement No. 4 is not true. 3. The Government have so far loyally carried out their promise to protect foreign life and property outside of Shameen, and I have no reason to apprehend that they will
not continue to do so.
4. As to augmentation of forces, I certainly do not intend to apply for more ships or men, but since the 23rd the French have sent up two additional sloops and the French Commander-in-chief arrived here last night.
5. On reflection, I am prepared to absolve the Government from any intention of starting trouble, and, in the absence of further proof to the contrary, will even go ao far as to absolve the main body of the cadets from such intention. That, however, a certain section deliberately laid themselves out to create an incident is undoubted. I may mention that I have indirectly conveyed to the chief of police my appreciation of his efforts to induce the procession to behave in an orderly manner, which, up to the crucial point, were eminently successful.
I have, &c.
J. W. JAMIESON,
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Enclosure 2.
Fu Ping-ch'ang, Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, to British Consul-General and French Consul.
(Translation) Gentlemen,
I HAVE the honour to inform you that I have received from the Secret ry for
Kuangtung, June 26, 1925. Foreign Affairs and the Civil Governor verbal instructions to the following effect :-
The contents of the despatches of the 24th and 23rd from the British consul- general to the Foreign Secretary and the French consul to the Civil Governor, respec- tively, have been considered. On the 23rd 1, the Civil Governor, assembled a commission of enquiry, composed of representatives of the police, the workmen, the agriculturists and merchants, as well as the American and German consuls. The first report of the permanent delegate of this commission relates that it has been established, by clear proofs and in an incontrovertible manner, that it was from Shameen that fire was opened on the crowd of demonstrators causing heavy losses in killed and wounded. The following is a summary of the principal points of the said report
F1
1. On the day in question the demonstrators were arranged in the following order: First the workmen, then the agriculturists, then the merchants, then students of th university and primary and middle schools (boys and girls), lastly, the cadets. With the exception of the cadets, none of them were armed. At the moment when the students of Lingnam College (Canton Christian College) reached the West (British) Bridge a volley was fired from Shameen, killing on the spot Professor Ch'u Li Chow and the student Hsu Yao Chang, seriously wounding three other persons and slightly large number. Behind the Lingnam students came the girls of the Chuan Wei School, the girls of the School of the Sacred Heart, the students of the Normal School, of the Municipal Normal School, of the Che-hsin School, of the higher and primary schools, who all came under fire. Only at the very last came the cadets. The Linguam students were separated from the cadets by a distance of several teus of chang (several hundred feet), at least. When the Lingnam students were fired on the cadets had not yet reached the West Bridge. This is established by the evidence of the official in charge of the investigation of the deaths, who stated that the bodies of Professor Chiu and the student Hsiao were west of the British bridge, while the bodies of the cadets were all at the entry to Shakes Street, which is at a considerable distance from the West Bridge From this it appears that the fusillade began from Shameen. directed at the crowd of unarmed students passing the British bridge, and that (the Europeans posted by) the East Bridge, hearing the noise of the firing, began to fire too, in such a way that the ground was strewn with corpses, and even passers-by were hit; details of the scene are vivid before our eyes.
The
2. On the day in question, along the bund as far as Shakee, there were, in addition to the demonstrators, numerous policemen carrying white flags, who stood along the water's edge keeping order. There were also spectators in rows along the bank. demonstrators, suspecting nothing, progressed along the long narrow road in close formation. If, as the two consule state, fire was opened by the cadets, and if, as Commander Scott has stated, a hundred shots were fired before Shameen replied, it is evident that the cadets before firing would have begun by dispersing the spectators, to prevent them being hit by stray "bullets, or anyhow they would have refrained from firing before the crowd in front of them had passed Shakee; finally, if they had fired a hundred shots, all the spectators and demonstrators would have had time to take shelter, and the answering fire from Shameen would only have hit carlets. How then were so many students and passers-by hit! It follows, then, that the assertion of the two consuls that the cadets fired first is without any foundation in fact.
3. On Shameen sandbags had been prepared and all sorts of military preparations made, whereas the cadets suspected nothing; moreover, they marched behind the workmen and other demonstrators in column of fours. If the cailets had really intended to open hostilities they would not have exposed themselves in close formation, at the risk of sustaining heavy losses. When the burst of firing occurred, at the moment when the Lingnam (Canton Christian College) students were approaching the British bridge, the cadets at the entrance to Shakes were still in their ranks and had not opened out; this proves that they had no premeditated intention of opening hostilities. It was only after perceiving in what danger the demonstrators marching in front of them were that they came to their support. This is absolutely clear and obvious.
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