CO885-11 — Page 82

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

mimim.C.O.882/11

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

4.

152

In connection with this matter it will be remembered that some 'time last week Mr. Kong-E-suen received a telegram from Mr. [Chinese Wong Kwai-hi in Canton containing the one word character]" which means satisfactory." It had been previously arranged between Mr. Kong and Mr. Wong Kwai-hi that if the former were to receive a telegram containing such a word, it would mean that Mr. Wong Ching-wei would appoint Govern- ment officials of equal standing to negotiate with Hongkong officials appointed by the Hongkong Government; and that the attitude of the Hongkong Government as revealed by the two Chinese Members of Council to Mr. Foo Ping-sheung and their conversations in Macao were clearly understood by the Canton Government.

Mr. Wong Kwai-hi was also told by Mr. Wong Ching-wei that for the purpose of formal negotiation with the Hongkong Govern- ment the officials appointed by the Canton Government would most probably be Mr. C. C. Wu, Mr. Sung Tsz-man and Mr. Foo Ping-sheung.

R. H. KOTEWALI..

Translation.

ENCLOSURE 3 IN NO. 13.

Letter to Mr. Foo Ping-sheung.

DEAR MR. PING-SHEUNG,

Yesterday Mr. Wong Kwai-hi handed us your letter, and we have noted its contents. We have shown it to His Excellency the Governor who, for reasons verbally given by Mr. Wong, and on reconsideration, agrees with your Government that it is not advisable at this juncture for you to come down to Hongkong to have informal conversations. For these same reasons His Excel- lency also considers that at present no practical result can be achieved by our visit to Canton for the purpose of holding in- formal conversations with the Canton Government. He thinks that the best way would be for the Canton Government, in the first instance, to inform the Hongkong Government in writing that it agrees to appoint Government officials of equal standing to meet and negotiate with officials appointed by the Hongkong Government for a settlement. Before any formal conference takes place between the appointed delegations the Governor will let us participate in informal conversations with the Canton Government. This procedure would seem to be better, and it is believed that it will have the concurrence of the Canton Govern- ment. We therefore transmit this proposal for your information and consideration.

Hongkong, 18th March, 1926.

With compliments,

SHOU-SON CHOW.

R. H. KOTEWALL.

€9220/26S.

153

No. 14.

The Governor of Hongkong to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Secret.

SIR,

(Received 28th April, 1926.)

Government 1louse, Hongkong, 24th March, 1926.

In continuation of my secret despatch of the 18th March,* 1 have the honour to inform you that the letter which forms the third enclosure in that despatch was conveyed to Mr. Fu Peng- sheung by Mr. Wong Kwai-hi on the 20th March.

With him

I sent Dr. To Ying-kwan whom I had previously used success- fully as a messenger between myself and the Canton Government (please see the eighth paragraph of my secret despatch of the 23rd Decembert), requesting him to see Mr. Wong Tseng-wai, the Chairman of the Canton Council of Government, and to ask Mr. Wong himself to write me a personal letter if the Canton Government had definitely decided to negotiate a settlement with the Hongkong Government. Dr. To returned yesterday with Mr. Wong's reply, of which I enclose a translation, and of which the effect is that the Canton Government agrees to appoint three members of the Council of Government, namely Mr. Sung Tsz-man (Commissioner of the Treasury), Mr. C. C. Wu (Mayor of Canton), and Mr. Ch'an Kung-pok (Commissioner for Agricul- ture) to negotiate a settlement with three officers of the Hong- kong Government, namely Mr. E. R. Hallifax (Acting Colonial Secretary), Mr. J. H. Kemp (Attorney-General) and Mr. D. W. Tratman (Acting Secretary for Chinese Affairs).

2. Mr. Wong Tseng-wai, who during last week-end was in bed suffering from a nervous breakdown, gave also certain verbal messages to Dr. To Ying-kwan. These are contained in the attached memorandum written by Dr. To.

3. I placed these documents to-day before the Executive Council and with the unanimous advice of the Council I have sent to H.M. Consul-General at Canton the despatch of which I enclose a copy and, on the receipt of a confirmatory official reply from the Canton Government, I propose to send the Hongkong delegates to Canton forthwith to open negotiations with the Canton dele- gates. I will inform you by telegram of further developments.

4. The position in Canton continues to be obscure, but the fol lowing narrative of the events of the last week-end is probably correct. About ten days ago the Canton Government received telegraphic information from Mr. Wu Hon-man, formerly Governor of the Kuang-tung province and now in Moscow, that during the past few months 60,000 rifles had been sent from

• No. 13. 1 No. 2.