[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.
CHINA.
321
F 4134/1/10)
Cypher telegram to Sir R. Macleay (Peking)
Foreign Office, 7th October 1926, 6.00 p.m.
No. 283.
Secret.
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My telegrams Nos. 270 and 272.
(1)
The most careful consideration has been given by all departments concerned to the possibility and practicability of taking any further measures short of a blockade with a view to securing the removal of the boycott in the event of the Cantonese government having failed to carry out their assur- ances on October 10th.
(2) Departments have in particular carefully examined the proposal of the Commodore Hongkong to contain Chinese cargo junks in a state of in- activity under threat of seizure it being an essen- tial part of his plan that Shameen should not be evacuated. This plan has been found to be open to
serious
the following objections (a) no guarantee can be given by the naval authorities that the military forces which would have to be sent to garrison Shameen could in case of necessity be safely with- drawn; (b) the proposal entails in the last resort
e willingness to have recourse to the bombing or bombardment of Canton, 1.6. as the only possible answer to a Cantonese attack on the Shameen garri- son; (c) in default of willingness to resort to
this/