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Enclosure. No.8.
95
THE WANHSIEN INCIDENT.
The situation on the Yangtsze during the last few days of August was as follows: The Southern Army was facing Wu Pei Fu, whose forces occupied a broad front centred at Hankow; and on the upper waters of the Yangtsze, with Headquarters at various towns, were many Generals, nominally under his authority but for all practical purposes independent commanders.
To facilitate the movement of their troops these Generals, and notably General Yang Sen, whose Headquarters lay at Wan Hsien, had adopted the plan of placing large numbers of armed soldiers upon foreign steamers for transport up and down river. This was done in defiance of the wishes of the Masters of these vessels. During the progress of a Chinese civil war, transporting troops in any manner in British ships was deemed a breach of the strict neutrality which His Majesty's Government desired to observe, and repeated protests both at Peking and locally had been made by the Consular officials and the Commanders of His Majesty's ships.
These protests had been of no avail, although until 27th August such troops had always left British ships when ordered so to do by a British Naval representative.
Shipping Companies did not wish to stop at towns with soldiers, but owing to ships being continually fired on they were not prepared to order Masters to pass through unless a guarantee of no firing were obtained, which was not possible. Moreover, the Companies did not wish to stop running owing to commitments of cargo.
Early on 29th, the British S.S. Wanliu, belonging to Messrs. Butterfield & Swire, Ltd., was boarded at Yun Yang by 16 armed soldiers, and several other boatloads of troops were seen approaching. S.S. Wanliu at once went ahead slowly to escape them, and, in spite of an attempt by those already on board to rush the bridge and engine-room, the ship's officers were able, by barricading the upper deck and engine-room, to hold them off, and proceed on their voyage. Dur- ing the attempt to come alongside, it is thought two sampans collided, and one with about 8 people on board had fallen astern in an apparently sinking condition, but owing to the presence of many other boats there appeared no danger to life. In view of this, and of his difficult position,