1
#11tary Government:-
No.64.
(copy to Hongkong)
(and 3 copies)
trs. Manifesto repudiating Hau Shih ch'ang as President.
September 23rd, 1918.
587
Str:-
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I have the honour to enclose herewith copy and translation of a despatch, addressed to me by the Com- missioner for Foreign Affairs, transmitting a formal re- pudiation by the Military Government of Hau Shih ch'ang as President Elect. Whilst I do not doubt that in this par- ticular instance the considered opinion of all the "Direc- tors is published to the world, it must not be forgotten that most of the pronouncements and telegrams issued on behalf of the Military Government, which appear over their joint signatures, are drawn up locally by the Chairman of the Board Ts'en Ch'un hauan assisted by Wu Chao shu. These two individuals may in fact be said to constitute the Military Government. Wu Ting fang is notoriously in his dotage, losing at times coherency of thought and speech, Lin Pao yi is a nonentity, and the rest of the Council 18 made up of tai piaos (representatives) of the more powerful Directors, such as Lu Yung t'ing, T'ang Chi yao and T'ang Shao yi, selected from amongst such of their satellites as happen at the moment to find themselves in Canton, who, owing to difficulties of communication postal and tele- graphic can hardly keep in touch with those whom they represent. Seeing that the younger Wu lacks administrative experience, it would not be too much to assert that the Military Government consists of Ts'en alone, a fact eminently
calculated/
le Majesty's Minister,
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&c. 1
&c.,
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