CO885-11 — Page 66

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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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and acting contrary to their religious belief. They were not released until the 6th Janu- ary, in spite of repeated appli- cations by the Consul-General to the Foreign Office at Can- ton, and in spite of several assurances by the Foreign Office officials that the men had been released or would shortly be released.

7. It may be added that the deliberate attack on the trade of Great Britain described above is in direct conflict with the spirit of the Washington Nine Power Treaty of 1922, in which the con- tracting powers, other than China, agreed to use their influence for the purpose of effectually establishing and maintaining the principle of equal opportunity for the commerce and industry of all nations throughout the territory of China. The treatment which British interests have recently been receiving from the Canton Government has been unequal and most unjust. British shipping is denied the facilities of the port at Canton and the shipping of other nationals is granted facilities there only if it avoids Hongkong and does not carry British goods. British merchants are not allowed to trade with Canton and British goods are.confiscated.

8. The present treaties between Great Britain and China may contain provisions which call for revision, either now or in the early future. That is a matter for the Conference now sitting at Peking to consider. But they also contain provisions which merely enunciate the relations which ordinarily subsist between the subjects and citizens of friendly powers, who live and trade side by side on conditions of perfect friendship and equality. It's these provisions that the Canton Government has seen fit to attack, and it is of the breach of provisions of this class that I complain.

9. I am sending a copy of this despatch to His Majesty's Minister at Peking and His Majesty's Consul-General at Canton.

I have, &c.,

C.7277/26,

No. 10.

C. CLEMENTI,

Governor, &c.

The Governor of Hongkong to the Secretary of State for the Colonies. (Received 31st March, 1926.)

No. 80. SIR,

Government House, Hongkong, 23rd February, 1926.

In continuation of my despatches recording current events of importance in connection with the boycott, I have the honour to inform you that the period preceding Chinese New Year (which

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fell on February 13th) witnessed strenuous, but happily abortive. efforts on the part of agitators from Canton to foment another general strike in this Colony.

2. These efforts first found expression on the return of the Fraternity Party "which visited Canton early in January this year, under circumstances which I have previously described; and the results of that visit support the suspicion, founded on the lack of commercial standing of the majority of the Fraternity Party, that the visit was designed for the furtherance of Cantonese propaganda.

3. The return of the Party to the Colony was followed imme- diately by a rumour that the mercantile community of Hongkong proposed to close down all business as a means of forcing this Government to find some means of ending the boycott-no doubt, by making concessions to the demands of the Canton Strike Com- mittee. The rumours assumed various shapes, the most per- sistent being that the doors of business houses and shops would remain closed after the New Year's holidays. There was for a time a real danger that this project would meet with some suc- cess, that active sympathisers with the Canton Strike Committee would lead the way, that many business men with no particular political views would follow them in the hope of an early return to normal conditions, and that the rest would assist the movement by passive acquiescence which the fear of seeming conspicuous so often dictates among Chinese. Fortunately the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce realised the danger and countered it by a meeting at which a resolution was adopted declaring that the rumour had no foundation in fact, and advising the merchants of the Colony to pay it no attention. The force of the attack was at once lessened, but the effort was not abandoned: and the report of the re-opening of business after the holidays-in many cases even a day or so earlier than usual-was received with some relief.

4. A very determined attempt was made to induce the Hong- kong Guild of Engineers and Mechanics to go on strike. Einis- saries from Canton were continuously busy among the members of this Guild, and reports were received that several confidential meetings of the Guild had been held to discuss the advisability of showing sympathy with Canton by 'downing tools." The head of the Guild, Mr. Hon. Man-wai, an employee of the Hongkong University, to whom the Colony has reason to be grateful for his conduct in the 1922 Strike, exhibited the most steadfast and fear- less loyalty; he succeeded in holding his men together in spite of the pressure which Canton brought to bear, and which included appeals to patriotic feeling, subsidies to the Guild ($40,000 was mentioned) and threats of murder. At one time the possibility of surrender to the agitators was very serious: but Mr. Hon Man-wai held firm, and his hands were strengthened by my speech in the Legislative Council on February 4th, in which strikers were cautioned against hopes of securing strike pay. (See my despatch No. 53 of 5th February.*)

C,5424/26; not printed.

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