208.
Enclos.Nos.4.5
& 6.
35
14
against the closure of the General Labour Union in Hong Kong (my secret despatch of the 14th April. These protests, copies of which are attached, appeared to afford an admirable opportunity of testing the attitude of the new regime in Canton towards this Colony and I accordingly suggested to Mr. Brenan that he should call on the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs (who does not appear to have been changed) and sound him on these points. I have also asked Mr. Brenan to ascertain the extent to which the Seamen's Union in Canton has suffered. If it is found that the headquarters of the Canton Seamen's Union have been forcibly closed, I propose to take immediate advantage of the opportunity to proscribe and close its Hong Kong branch. In Swatow this Union has, I understand, been closed down with the rest and in Shanghai its leaders have been executed. My last news today is that the Seamen's Union men on all ships declared a 24-hours strike at Canton as a protest against the recent searching of the labour unions by the Canton Government and that the s.s. "Tatshan" has left from Canton for Hong Kong with a scratch naval and military crew. Mr. Brenan telegraphs to me that he is trying to see General Li Chai-sum in order to ascertain the attitude of the Government.
6.
Since the coup d'état the Canton Government has changed the chief editors of both the Kan Kwok Yat Po, which is the principal organ of the Kuomintang at Canton and of the Kwok Man San Man, which is the principal Labour newspaper at Canton. The Canton Gazette continues, but I have no information yet concerning the attitude
of General Li Chai-sum towards it.
7. I take the opportuinty of forwarding the under- mentioned documents for your information:-
(a)