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بائيا
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O.882/11
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
|ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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Mr. Brenan: That need not make Canton anxious. So long as the interest, etc., were paid, we would have no reason to assume control. We have no ulterior object.
Mr. Kemp: The Canton Government could pay off the whole of the loan whenever they pleased.
Mr. Brenan: We feel that the suggestion for the development of Whampoa should be taken as evidence of our desire to restore friendly relations. We would like to cut away the ground from beneath those who say that Hongkong desires to strangle Canton.
Mr. Ch'ên: This, then, is the counter-proposal?
Mr. Brenan: An unwarrantable attack has been made on us, and perhaps it is our proper duty to say "we have nothing to nego- tiate about." We realise, however, Canton has its difficulties, and that the Government must be able to say to the people," We have got something for you: we have been able to preserve our prestige and forward your prosperity." Suggest an object for a loan yourselves. There are other objects which we would have preferred, for example, the Bias Bay railway, or the Shek-lung Chiu Chau railway. We have put forward the Whampoa pro- posal as evidence of our genuine desire for a friendly agreement. Mr. Ch'ên: The difficulty we have to face is this, that the Nationalist Government must shoulder a financial burden by clos- It is easy for us to destroy the ing the boycott in practice. boycott and end the whole thing, but that is no solution of the difficulties. The use of blind force might only end in driving the trouble under ground. We want to reach a settlement in circum- stances which will make the settlement a real thing. The ques- tion is a serious practical one for us.
Mr. Brenan: The payment of compensation is regarded by the British side as a payment of blackmail, and there is a fixed deter-* mination not to pay. Hongkong accepts no blame for the Your burden is your own, and you have revenue from troubles. which you should meet it. You have raised the problem, and you should solve it.
Mr. Ch'ên: This is a serious practical question, and, ignoring the matter of its origin, we want to know what solution can be found. Clearly it involves a financial burden. Both sides clearly wish to see an end of the boycott. This conference is not a con- ference of conflict or of victory of one side or of the other. What we want is peace, and a possibility, of return to normal conditions of commercial and social life. It is of no use merely to write on a piece of paper the boycott is ended. You refer to a payment
face" also concerned? of blackmail: is not your own
..
Mr. Kemp: We fully realise that you have a difficulty and a burden which is not a light one. But they are your own, and we cannot assume any part of that burden.
Mr. Ch'ên: The solution of the difficulty involves a heavy finan- cial burden, and if Hongkong wishes to solve the difficulty they
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should share that burden. As we stand at the moment, we have no financial burden too heavy for us to bear. If the boycott is to be settled and normal relations are to be resumed then a burden will be involved of which the Nationalist Government cannot carry the whole.
Mr. Soong: It is agreed that the removal of the boycott will involve the payment of money. The Nationalist Government can- not pay and the Hongkong Government will not; therefore, here we reach a deadlock. We have suggested another solution, an international enquiry, which does not promise an early settlement. May I suggest a third possible solution, which is that while Can- ton pays the money necessary for a settlement Hongkong lends it to Canton; whether the loan should be repaid or not should depend on the result of the enquiry. Our difficulty is that an immediate solution requires an immediate payment, and we cannot pay.
Mr. Brenan: I must emphasise the impossibility of any pay- ment for strike compensation, or of account of military expenses. There are difficulties to meet elsewhere in China, and we cannot possibly help any side. There must be no uncertainty as to the destination of any money lent by Hongkong, for even if it was not directly used for military expenses it might release other funds for that purpose.
Mr. Ch'ên: It is necessary to realise that the solution of the boycott involves fresh financial burdens.
Mr. Soong: Any money lent would be used entirely for stop- ping the boycott, and would not be devoted to military expenses.
Mr. Brenan: It is quite impossible to consider a loan either for We, however, military expenses or for stopping the boycott.
have suggested the other solution of an industrial loan.
Mr. Ch'ên: If the boycott trouble is to be solved, it is to be solved in the interests of British trade. The Nationalist Govern- ment would necessarily incur expense in settling it, and we have no money for the purpose.
Mr. Kemp: It involves a financial burden which you want us to share. Take it up yourselves, and trade and prosperity will at once increase.
Mr. Ch'ên: We do not get the Customs revenue.
revenue.
Mr. Kemp: I don't refer to the Chinese Maritime Customs General prosperity will mean an increase of general
We require
revenue.
Mr. Soong: Yes, but that is in the far future. money now to remove this burden. The improvement in trade would not be effected in a month.
Mr. Brenan: But perhaps in a few months trade would flourish. For political and other reasons no loan can be made except for a definite and industrial or developmental purpose, and our orders