12
becoming metamorphosed under the skilful promptings of the Soviet and Kuomintang wire-pullers into a purely political movement involving a definite challenge to foreign life and property throughout China.
35. Early on the morning of the following day, the 1st June, there was further serious rioting on the Nanking Road. The trains were attacked, Europeans in passing motor-cars were insulted and the paving-stones were removed from the road and burled at a fire-engine which had been brought into action in an endeavour to disperse the demonstrators. Seeing that the rioters were now entirely out of control, the police officer on the spot, Commissioner Beatty, gave the order to fire. Such was the ugly temper of the mob on this occasion that it was estimated that about three volleys had to be fired before the rioters began to disperse. The casualties were three Chinese killed and fourteen wounded.
36. On the afternoon of the 1st June the Municipal Council declared state of emergency in the International Settlement; "this was equivalent to a proclamation of martial law and was accompanied by a warning to the Chinese explaining the reason for such action. Both documents were signed by the Secretary of the Municipal Council,
37. Again, on the evening of the 2nd June, there was a further attack on an American mounted volunteer patrol from the upper floor of the New World buildings, which are situated on both sides of the Nanking Road, at the inter-section with Tibet Road, and are connected by an underground passage; police reinforce- ments and armed volunteers were hurried up and, after a fusillade which lasted for approximately an hour and in which some thousands of rounds were exchanged on both sides, the buildings were broken into and large numbers of Chinese were arrested; most of these were soon released for lack of evidence, and the real
gunmen in this instance were never apprehended.
38. After the 4th June there were no fresh disorders. The strike movement was still spreading and public utility services were continuing to function with reduced staffs, supplemented by volunteer workers and naval ratings.
39. On the 7th June the senior consul addressed a note to the Chinese Com- missioner for Foreign Affairs, of which the following is an extract, in reply to the latter's two notes of protest: "There also, as a matter of course, will be an investi- gation by the authorities concerned into the action of the police officer in question, besides which competent courts stand ready to deal with any complaints."
40. By the 8th June Chinese crews of most coastal shipping of the port came out, and incitement to strike increased in intensity. By the 13th June all the seamen were out. On the 14th the situation was better, some of the defence forces being withdrawn. On the 15th June two British subjects. Mr. Mackenzie and Miss Duncan, were attacked by about seven Chinese while motoring near the settlement boundary. Mackenzie being killed and his companion being wounded.
41. On the 27th June the situation took a turn for the better, banks and shops were reopened and processions were prohibited. The arrest of the Bolshevik agent. Dosser, and his wife, definitely established a link between the extreme Kuomintang party and Soviet intrigue. (See section of this report entitled "Foreign Relations-Russia.")
42. On the 4th July an American patrol, coming to the assistance of an American police officer who was being attacked by a mob, shot one Chinese,
43. On the 6th July the Municipal Council cut off the supply of electric powel from all mills, except those engaged in the preparation of food-stuffs, on the ground that it was impossible to continue the normal supply with volunteer labour indefinitely. This step helped to make the Chinese authorities realise that they must expedite action for dealing with the agitators who were preventing the labourers from returning to work.
44. On the 11th July, owing to the intimidation of their employees by the Strike Committee, the Municipal Waterworks were obliged to give notice that unless this ceased and they were allowed to replenish their stocks of coal, they would have to cut off the bulk of the water supply to Chapei.
45. Signs of the financial straits of the Strike Committee were now no longer wanting, as was shown when Yu Ya-ching, the chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, offered to call off the boycott on certain terms, such as the participation of foreigners in a general subscription for the benefit of those on strike, which was. of course, inacceptable.
46. On the 12th August the negotiations which had been proceeding for some time between the Japanese consul-general and the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs for the settlement of the strike in the Japanese cotton-mills resulted in the signature
13
of an agreement for the termination of this dispute. The disastrous result, however, of any such agreement which resulted in the isolation of the British and other Bill owners, the solidarity which had up to now been displayed by mill owners of all nationalities and the fact that the execution of this Sino-Japanese mill strike agreement depended entirely on the resumption of the power supply by the Municipal Council, prevented the proposed agreement from being put into effect for the time being.
47. On the 28th August the Council issued a notification terminating the state of emergency, and all landing parties were withdrawn.
4ä. On the 7th September, during an anti-foreign memorial demonstration organised by students in the Chinese city. a procession endeavoured to enter the International Settlement. They surrounded the police, who had to fire, in conse- quence of which two persons were wounded.
49. Following the closing of the general labour union by the Chinese authorities on the 18th September, the majority of industrial workers returned to work and an agreement was also reached for resumption of work in the British cotton mills. This may be said to have been the termination of the strike in local British industries at Shanghai.
50. Yu Ya-ching and his small extremist following, far from accepting defeat, redoubled their efforts to maintain the strike of seamen in British ships. The two British shipping companies, however, continued to run as many ships
as they could profitably employ, using either Russian crews or Chinese crews temporarily engaged in Hankow and Tien-tsin.
51. At the end of the year the situation in Shanghai, although not altogether satisfactory, was rapidly becoming normal. There were recurrent outbursts on the part of the students and other agitators such as that which occurred in the middle ôf December when seventeen students were arrested. On the whole, however, the Chinese authorities were successful in checking further outbreaks by keeping the students and labourers' organisations under close surveillance.
137
|