}
127
4
There
strikers were in fact supported by the Government, but the Government was sincerely anxious to get rid of them and
the time was entirely opportune for coming to terms. were three German aviators employed, but they kept out
of politics. Mr. Cohen produced for my inspection a contract in original, signed by Dr. Sun Yat sen and the Northern Construction Company Ltd., of Vancoiver, dated the 12th April,1923, under which the Company was to build the uncompleted portion of the Canton-Hankow Railway.-
At 11 a.m.
on the 21st December, I went accom-
panied by Mr. Fitz-Maurice, to Government House, in the old Viceroy's Yamen. There we met Mr. Wong Ching-wai, Mr. C.C.Wu, T.V.Sung, Foo Ping-sheung, and Mr. Luk King-fo, the last named interpreting, as Mr. Wong did not know English. I was received in a most cordial manner, and I expressed to lir. Wong Ching-wai the Governor's warm regard, the pleasure which it had given him to receive Mr. Sung, and his gratification that the two Governments had got together in this friendly manner. We agreed that both Governments were entirely sincere in their desire to bring about
it
I
a settlement of the strike and boycott, and it was decided that as nothing definite was known of the strikers' attitude beyond the terms which they had published, would be as well to analyse them. It was emphasised by both sides that neither Government had any official cognisance of them. Copies in Chinese were at once produced had a translation with me-- and I proceeded to show in
as the detail that most of what might be described political terms were based on a misapprehension, and that in any event they affected Hongkong's sovreignty and therefore could not be discussed. Two matters remained, the question of re-instatement and that of strike pay. With regard to these I began by recapitulating Mr. Sung's
argument
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