ク
steadily decreasing.
Admiral Basire, who commands
the French Fleet on this Station, told me recently
on the authority of the French Consul at Canton that a Russian Officer recently had a dispute with a Chinese Officer in Canton, that in the course of
the altercation the Russian put his hand on the Chinaman's shoulder; that the Chinaman thereupon
whipped out a revolver and shot the Russian dead;
that Borodin, who is the head of the Bolshevik Mission
in Canton, so far from feeling himself strong enough to protest against this act, had been obliged to
ignore it. I incline to believe that the Chinese
are already heartily sick of their Russian advisers, and would be thankful to get rid of them. I may say in this connection that shortly after my arrival I received through Sir James Jamieson a formal despatch
from the Canton Government dated the 2nd November
requesting me to expel from Hongkong Mr. Chan Kwing-
ming and Mr. Ngai Pong-peng, who are the avowed
enemies of the present Canton Soviet. I replied on
the 12th November pointing out that it was the traditional policy of the Hongkong Government to
prevent this Colony from being used for political
intrigue against the Chinese Government; that I
should steadfastly adhere to that policy and expel any who evade it; but that I must first be satisfied that the Canton Authorities will reciprocate by refusing
to allow the Kuang-tung province to be used as a base
for political intrigue against this Colony, and that
I should regard the expulsion of the Russian
Bolshevik emissaries now in Canton as a proof that
the Canton Government is in earnest in this matter.
4