19
all co-operation His Majesty's Government would
be compelled to take independent action. denewed
representatione were made to kr. Chen in karch
1927, when kr. O'Malley, then asting as my rep-
resentative at lankov, pointed out that in spite
of the assurances offered by the Canton authori-
ties that the pirates would be exterminated with-
out British co-operation, further pirasies had
in fact taken place. It was pointed out te
Mr. Chen that if no more effective measures wer
contemplated by the thinese authorities His
Lajesty's Government would have no option but
to act independently, and Lr. C'halley, on my
instructions, asked whether Er. Chen had any
proposals to make. On the 19th Laroh re Chen,
who of course was speaking as Minister for
Foreign Affairs of the Nationalist Government
of China, returned a reply, in the form of an
aide-memoire, in which, while deprecating as
unwise a suggestion that repressive action
on the part of British forces should take the
form