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and British forces, and resulted in some thirty-seven Chinese being killed and many more wounded.
163. The Canton Government lost no time in launching a campaign of vilification against the foreigners on Shameen, and more especially against the British and French consuls and their Governments. They asserted that the Portuguese gunboat (which never opened fire at all) had bombarded Canton with naval guns; that the firing started from Shameen as well as many other calumnies. The evidence of His Majesty's consul-general, as well as the statements of a naval officer serving on the U.S.S.Ashville,"both of whom were independent eye-witnesse of the actual incident itself and were both under fire, sufficiently refute these assertions of the Canton Government.
164.
Five demands were addressed on the 26th June to both French and British Governments by General Fu Ping-ch'ang, Commissioner for Foreign Affairs :-
(1) Apologies will be made by High Commissioners appointed by the Powers
interested to the Government of Canton.
(2.) The senior officers responsible shall be punished.
(3.) With the exception of two despatch vessels, all naval units of the Powers
interested shall be withdrawn.
(4.) Shameen shall be returned to the Government of Kwantung and placed
under the administration thereof.
(5.) The victims and their families shall be compensated.
165. On receipt of these demands the French Minister and His Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires decided to instruct their respective consuls-general to reply that they were unable to take such demands into consideration. On the 18th July these demands were again put forward but, after consulting the French Government. His Majesty's Government decided that no reply should be returned on this occasion. These demands may consequently be said to have lapsed.
166. From the beginning of August onwards the anti-British agitation in Canton became even more violent. There were some forty or fifty Russians attached to the Russian consulate in Canton, as well as some 120 naval and military instructors, whose overbearing demeanour and influence with the Strike Committee and extremist elements created an atmosphere which made it impossible for the moderates to make any headway.
167. The findings of the Cantonese Committee of Investigation, which had no judicial character whatever, succeeded in placing all the blame on the foreigners for the incidents of the 23rd June, and a complete deadlock in regard to any negotia- tions between Canton and Hong Kong or between His Majesty's Government and the de facto Canton Government had been reached. Sir James Jamieson was of opinion at this stage that nothing short of the abrogation of treaties would placate Canton.
168. On the 13th August three new regulations for coastal navigation were published, but not by Canton Government nor approved by them:—
(1.) All steamers, except those of British and Japanese nationalities, are per- mitted to take part in coastal trade, provided they do not call at Hong Kong.
(2.) All vessels, on entering port, must be inspected by labour pickets. (3.) Export of raw materials and food-stuffs is prohibited.
169. These regulations really warranted a blockade of the entrance of the river, as they interfered with the freedom of action of the maritime treaty Powers. rendered vessels subject to unauthorised search and were an illegal restriction of trade. In view, however, of the fact that of the maritime treaty Powers the French alone appeared willing to co-operate, and of the fact that the circumstances attending the proposal for a blockade clearly indicated the necessity of joint inter- national action on the broadest basis, i.., the unconditional co-operation of the Italian, French, American, Japanese and possibly Portuguese Governments. and of the fact that it was very doubtful whether these Governments would co-operate as they did in 1923 in the case of threat to seize the customs, it was found impossible to adopt Sir James Jamieson's proposal for a blockade.
170. Quite apart from the possibility of undesirable repercussions on the political situation in the north (eg., Marshal Feng's anti-British proclamations students' agitations in the capital culminating in Legation servants' strike, &c.
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there is little doubt that the other maritime Powers, especially the Japanese and Americans, were but little interested in what was happening in Canton, provided that no attempt was made to seize the maritime customs. Their shipping was not being seriously interfered with. The American Dollar Line, the Japanese and Chinese lines were already making their arrangements for carrying on their business by means of ocean-going steamers trading direct with the outside world without touching at Hong Kong; in brief, the other Powers had no wish to assist British interests by pulling the chestnuts out of the fire for Hong Kong. Moreover, any form of isolated action by Great Britain which would have been tantamount to and certainly construed by Nationalist opinion as forcible intervention in China was to be deprecated.
171. In order to test the authenticity of the coastal navigation rules (see above). it was decided to send up experimentally a river steamer from Hong Kong to Canton to show the flag and see what happened. On the 5th September the steamer arrived and was not molested. This seemed to prove that the Strike Committee had somewhat exceeded their powers, but there appeared to be little doubt that the rules were actually issued by the Strike Committee with the tacit approval of the Canton Government.
172. In Canton itself, from now onwards, there was evidence of dissensions in the camp on the one hand, and on the other of considerable military preparations which, judging from the activity of the Russian instructors in Canton and certain Soviet munition ships, seemed to indicate the launching of an attack on Amoy to the north and on the Island of Hainan to the south.
173. On the 20th August the unexpected assassination of Liao Chung-kai, one of the foremost leaders of the Chinese Bolshevik party in Canton, seemed to indicate that the anti-Communists were at last making some headway. Any hopes, however. which may have been founded on this event were illusory, for in September it was clear that the Russian element, headed by Comrade Borodin and the cadets trained under Russian instructors at Whampoa, had secured a stronger grip than ever of the situation.
174. On the 15th September the following rules were drawn up and published by the Central Executive Committee of the Strikers' Union for the governance of those non-British firms who desired to resume business in Canton and regain the services of their Chinese staffs, both clerical and domestic:-
'Conditions set forth by the Strikers' Committee concerning the American, Japanese and French Trade.
(1.) If the merchants of either of these nationalities reopen their business without informing the Strikers' Committee, or without the tripartite contract being signed by the committee, the employees and the
company concerned, the strikers will deal with them as strike-breakers.
(2.) Any employees of these merchants returning to work without the permission of the committee will be dealt with as strike-breakers.
(3.) If any trader of the above-mentioned nationalities shop or ship owner infringes the rules laid down by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the strikers, and if he has business with Englishmen, with Hong Kong, Macao or Shameen, the strikers will deal with him as a strike-breaker.
(4.) They must reinstate all their former employees, and pay their salary as before the strike.
(5.) The employees resuming work must subscribe 10 per cent. of their salary to the strike fund.
(6.) If the business concerned is in Shameen, Hong Kong or Macao, the reopening will be allowed only on the condition that it be removed to Chinese territory.
(7.) If the traders infringe the contract, the authorisation will be immediately cancelled, and further severe steps will be taken toward them.
(8.) At the settlement of the general strike, these traders must obey the same rules as those of the general settlement.
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(9.) Those traders transferring their business to Canton territory must obey the rules and laws of the Nationalist Government.
(10.) If the traders have any special question, or their employees have any special demands, these special questions or demands must be discussed and put in the contract by the committee, the traders and their employees.
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