M
SECRET:
Copy to:-
Canton No.11.
Peking No. 12.
Singapore.
GOVERNMENT HOUSE,
HONG KONG. 27 th January, 1930.
52
y
Ly Lord,
In continuation of my secret despatch of
the 20th December, 1929, 1 have the honour to inform
Your Lordship that, following the failure both of the
attack on Canton in the south and of the rebellion of
T'ang Sheng-chih in the north, the civil war has
languished and intrigue has once more taken the place
of warfare in the field. The attempt of T'ang
Sheng-chih came came to grief, because the support,
which he expected, did not materialize. Marshal
Yên Hsi-shan in particular, so far from offering assistance, appears to have lent his support to the
Central Government and to have put pressure on Tang
to oblige him to relinquish his command and to leave
the scene of his activities. Recent events have
undoubtedly served to strengthen Harshal Yen's position
and, in the opinion of many Chinese, he is now at the
head of the most powerful of the groups remaining
outside the direct control of Nanking. He is
credited with the intention of spreading his influence
THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
LORD PALSFIELD,
Stc.
c.
c.
over