PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :---
TIFIC.O.882/11
سلسلنا
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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and for this reason would be unwilling to take any action antagonistic to the organised labour movement in Kuang-tung upon which its power is based, and of which (so it is alleged by Cantonese officials) the present anti-British strike and boycott is a spontaneous and patriotic manifestation. I am also very doubtful whether in the absence of General Cheung Kai-shek and his troops from Canton, Mr. Wong Tsing-wai and his Council of Government have the power, even if they had the desire, to suppress the Strike Committee and abolish the strike pickets. At all events Mr. Sung Tsz-man made the significant remark that the present Government of Canton would not last a single day, if it shot down the strike pickets. The Canton Authorities there- fore decline to intervene except as mediators, who would use their influence to prevent the Strike Committee from putting for- ward any unreasonable demands: and indeed the result of Mr. Fletcher's visit has been to eliminate from future discussion any matter except the payment of a lump sum of money by employers to strikers as a quid pro quo for ending the boycott, from which admittedly the Strike Committee derives by means of its strike pickets a considerable income.
3. It is obvious that the Hongkong Government cannot parti- cipate in negotiations for a settlement on these lines, but the question for decision is whether or not the Hongkong Govern- ment would be justified in obstructing such a settlement. I dis- cussed the whole subject very fully with the Executive Council this morning, Mr. Chow Shou-son, Mr. R. H. Kotewall and Mr. D. G. M. Bernard being also present by my invitation. In stating the case to the Executive Council I laid emphasis on the following objections to the proposed bargain : -
(a) It will not eliminate Russian Bolshevik influence from Kuang-tung. You will see from Mr. Fletcher's report that the introduction of Russians as advisers to the Canton Government was apparently due to the refusal of H.B.M. Consul-General at Canton to allow Dr. Sun Yat-sen to employ Canadians for this purpose. The effect of this action was to give Borodin, the Bolshevik emissary from Moscow, who happened just then to be at Canton, an unique oppor tunity for offering Dr. Sun the help of Russian officers as well as Russian money and munitions. I trust that the very serious damage to British interests which resulted from this unfortunate step may serve as a warning for the future; and I shall certainly use all my own influence to induce the Capton Government to accept British rather than Russian help here- after. But there is no doubt that Borodin and his officers have established a strong claim to the gratitude of the present de facto Government of Canton and that it will not be easy to dislodge them. Until they are dislodged they will be a constant menace to Hongkong, and they may prejudice the permanency of any settlement now made.
(b) The proposed payment by employers. to strikers is neither more nor less than a payment of blackmail, and such payment may be a positive encouragement to organised labour to proclaim another anti-British strike and boycott whenever labour funds are again needed. There is, more- over the possibility—I would even say the probability—that,
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after the present boycott and strike have been called off, there may remain at Canton the nucleus of a Labour Com- mittee ready and willing to seize any pretext, however flimsy, to raise "casy money from Hongkong.
(c) The present nominal Government of Canton has only been in power a few months; it has many Chinese enemies both in and outside the Province of Kuang-tung, and the chance of its being attacked and overthrown by a hostile Chinese General during the course of the next year cannot definitely be ruled out. If the present Government of Canton were overthrown, then it is possible that no permanent advantage would accrue to this Colony from a settlement of the boycott in the manner now proposed..
(d) The power of the sword in the Kuang-tung Province rests apparently with General Cheung Kai-shek, concerning whom I know very little. He has for several weeks been away from Canton; and he is now, I believe, at Swatow. I do not know whether he is loyal to Mr. Wong Tsing-wai and the Canton Council of Government. If he is not, and if he is really under Russian Bolshevik influence, he may perhaps by force of arms make himself dictator at Canton, divert to his own war-chest any payment made by the Hongkong merchants to the Canton Strike Committee and continue the boycott. I do not myself consider this contingency at all likely, but it is not beyond the realm of possibility.
4. Is there then any means of ending the boycott without pay- ing blackmail to the Strike Committee? I confess that the only means that I can see would be the use of armed force, military or naval. In my last despatch I explained that I saw little chance of the overthrow of the present nominal Government of Canton in the near future either by the Chinese Navy or by any Chinese General from another Province. It is not to be expected that any European Powers will attack Canton for the purpose of end- ing a boycott from which some of them actually derive commer- cial advantage and from which none of them suffer as acutely as Great Britain. While, as regards the employment of British naval and military force to end the boycott, I am firmly of the opinion that whatever temporary relief might be obtained in Canton, Hongkong and Swatow from such action would very soon be lost in consequence of the resulting animosity throughout China towards Great Britain. The time is past when it was possible for foreign nations at the point of the bayonet to compel the Chinese to trade with them: and our commercial rivals in the -Far East are not slow to take advantage of any hostility displayed by the Chinese towards British merchants in China. At present as far as I can ascertain most of the 18 provinces are looking askance at the doings of the Canton Government as at the antics of a naughty child. But, if Great Britain were forcibly to coerce the Canton Government, it is almost certain that all Chinese opinion would be united in its support.
5. I am driven, therefore, to conclude that without payment to the Strike Committee there can be no settlement of the boycott and that the present unfortunate situation instead of improving will grow worse. The 12th February next will be Chinese New Year's Day, and before that day it is customary for every Chinese
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