71
>
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O.882/11
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC. COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
C.8379/26S.
The Governor
Secret (2).
SIR,
130
No. 12.
Hongkong to the Secretary of State for the
Colonies.
(Received 19th April, 1926.)
Government House, Hongkong, 8th March, 1926.
On the 25th February, being the day before the Customs inci- dent at Canton closed, Sir Shou-son Chow and Dr. Kotewall received the letter, of which I enclose a copy, addressed to them jointly by Mr. Wong Tseng-wai, Chairman of the Canton Council of Government. This letter is dated the 23rd February. It was written and its envelope addressed entirely in the handwriting of Mr. Wong Tseng-wai. It contained, as you will see, a request that Sir Shou-son Chow and Dr. Kotewall should arrange to meet in Macao the Canton Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Fu Peng-sheung. I may here mention that this is the first spon- taneous attempt made by the Canton Government to open nego- tiations with Hongkong since the boycott began.
2. The two Chinese members of Legislative Council showed me this letter on the 26th February at an interview at which Mr. E. R. Hallifax (Acting Colonial Secretary), Mr. D. W. Tratman (Secrc- tary for Chinese Affairs), and Mr. J. H. Kemp (Attorney-General) were also present. We discussed the matter fully and agreed that it would be politic to comply with the request made by Mr. Wong Tseng-wai. Accordingly Sir Shou-son Chow and Dr. Kotewall went to Macaco on the 2nd March and there, by arrangement, met Mr. Fu Peng-sheung. They conferred with him in Macao on the 2nd and 3rd March, returned to Hongkong on the 4th March and reported to me next day the gist of the conversations which had taken place, and which at my request they have recorded in the attached joint memorandum. Mr. Fu Peng-sheung on the 4th March returned to Canton.
3. The conversations of Sir Shou-son Chow and Dr. Kotewall with Mr. Fu Peng-sheung at Macao appear to have been candid and friendly and, although as stated in paragraph 12 of the joint memorandum 'nothing tangible has been achieved," the merc fact of the resumption of negotiations at the instance this time of Mr. Wong Tseng-wai is important, while much of the information elicited by the two Chinese members of Legislative Council is interesting and valuable.
4. In order that the joint memorandum may be fully understood, it is desirable that I should supply you with a brief commentary
referring in the main to previous correspondence.
131
Paragraph 3(A).--The reference is to a letter written by Mr. Fu Sik, a Chinese resident in Hongkong, to his nephew Mr. Fu Peng-sheung in November last, inviting him to visit Hongkong. Paragraph 3(B).-Please see paragraph 8 of my secret despatcli of 23rd December* and paragraph 3 of my secret despatch of 6th January. The reference is to the use which I made of Dr. To Ying-kwan as an intermediary between myself and Mr. Wong Tseng-wai. This led to the visit paid me by Mr. Sung Tsz-man.
Paragraph 3(C).-Please see paragraph 8 of my secret despatch of 23rd December.*
Paragraph 3(D). —Mr. Fletcher's report is enclosure No. 1 in my secret despatch of 24th December.‡
Paragraph 3(E).-As regards Mr. Ch'an King-po, please see paragraph I of my secret despatch of 7th January.§
Paragraph 3(F).--The report of the interview which Mr. Sung Tsz-man had with me is enclosure No. 9 in my secret despatch of 23rd December.*
Paragraph 4(f).---Please see paragraph 4 of my secret despatch of the 6th January and enclosure No. 1 in that despatch.†
Paragraph 6(A).-—The communiqué in question is enclosure No. I in my secret despatch of the 23rd January.||
Paragraph 6(B).-My statement of the 4th February is the speech. which I made in Legislative Council on that day and which is enclosure No. 1 in my despatch No. 53 of the 5th February.¶
Paragraph; 6(C).—Mr. C. C. Wu's suggestion is set out in para- graph 1 of my secret despatch of the 7th January.§
Paragraphs 7 and 8.-The ** demands " of the strikers and students form enclosure No. 1 in my secret despatch of the 6th March,§§ to which I invite general reference in connection with these paragraphs of the joint memorandum. It is important to note here the statement of Mr. Fu Peng-sheung that these "demands were drawn up by the strikers without the previous knowledge of the Canton Government."
5. ne following information elicited from Mr. Fu Peng- sheung is interesting and probably true:-
(a) "It would be to the Canton Government's advantage to have the matter (i.e. boycott) settled, as it was daily paying about $8,000 for feeding the strikers, and also the existence in Canton of an enormous number of unemployed men (some- thing like 40,000) was very inconvenient and undesirable." (See paragraph 3).
(b) The Canton Strike Committee now estimates its total claim upon Hongkong for strike pay and compensation in lieu of reinstatement at $14,000,000. (See paragraph 3.)
• No. 2.
+ No. 4.
‡ No. 3.
C3168/265; not printed. || C4447/288; not printed. ¶ C5424/26; not printed.
§§ No. 11.