CO129-383 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 623

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KEG 19 JUN 11

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was made in Mr. Combe's memorandum, was a precautionary

measure due to a temporary panic amongst the Shemien Guard

(Chinese). The sailors were withdrawn the same evening.

Although the Yamen of the Governor General was burnt

down almost in its entirety, the one section which escaped

was the Secretariat, which contained all the provincial

archives.

(Signed)

I have &c.,

J. W. Jamieson.

Consul-General.

THE OUTBREAK IN CANTON OF APRIL 27TH TO 30TH,

1911.

There can be no doubt that the outbreak of members

of a Secret Society in Canton on April 27th was the

premature explosion of a very carefully laid mine.

Evidence had not been wanting, even before the murder

of the Acting Tartar General early in the month, that

some deeply laid plot was on foot aimed at the re-

presentatives of the Manchu dynasty in Canton, (the

Viceroy though not a Manchu being included in the cat-

egory as the official most to be feared). It is most

probable that April 26th was the day originally chosen

for carrying out the plot, and that the report spread

abroad that the 29th (the 1st day of the Chinese 4th

moon) was the appointed day was merely a blind. It

was only the fact that the expected reinforcements for

the revolutionaries failed to arrive, that delayed

the outbreak.

Throughout April runours were prevalent

as to the imminence of a disturbance, and though the

revolutionaries