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Mr. Gull, the Secretary of the China Association,
came round to see me late yesteruay evening and left with
me the attached papers about the appeal which is being
made jointly by the China Association, the British Red
Cross Society and the Conference of Missionary Societies
for funds for the relief of distress in China. The Lord
Mayor of London nas also issued an appeal for a fund which
I gather will be separate but will be worked in conjunction
with the organisation for managing the appeal of the three
societies.
In the attached papers will be seen, marked "A",
a telegram of the 2nd August from the Tientsin branch of
the China Association asking for the Lord Mayor to be
moved to open a fund for the purpose. On that occasion
the request was not accepted by the Lord Mayor.
"
·B"
On the 28th August a further appeal came from
the British Chamber of Commerce, Shanghai, to which it
was first proposed in London to send a negative answer,
but almost at the same time the China Association had a
letter from Mr. Ronald of the Foreign Office asking them
whether they could not organise some relief fund for
those in distress in China. The China Association thereupon
decided to act in association with the two other societies,
and this public appeal has resulted.
It will be seen that not only has the appeal
been launched under official favour, but H.M. Ambassador
in China is to be President of the organisation to be set
up in China to administer the money and the material
fortncoming, and the Governor Designate of Hong Kong,
Sir Geoffry Northcote, has accepted the Vice Presidency.
Mr. Gull told me that the Foreign Office had
telegraphed