CO129-471 - Public Offices - 1921 — Page 568

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move troops for the purpose without the grant of further sums by the Central Govern- ment. A result of the conference was the reorganisation of the Cabinet, reported in my telegram No. 207 of the 2 lat May, in virtue of which it now assumes a complexion of entire submission to the three straps, Opportunity was taken of this to fucilitate a settlement of the difficulty in Kansu, reported on in my despatch No. 20 of the 12th January last, by appointing the former Military Lieutenant-Governor of Suiyuan, Ts'ai Ch'eng-heun, to be Minister of War. The Kansu Mabommedan, Ma Fu-hsiang, has now proceeded to his post at Suiyuan, while the acting incumbent of the post of Kansu Military Governor rem ins in office. While the position cannot be said as yet to have been definitely settled, a revolt of the Mahommedans, whose position has been considerably strengthened by these events, appears to have been stayed off for the time being.

My despatch No. 180 stated that there were strong reasons for the belief that Chang Tso-lin is determined to reinstate the Emperor Hatan-Tung. His visit to Peking terminated, however, without any move by him in that direction. It may be presume that he considered the time not yet ripe, and for this reason consented to the issue on the 3rd April of a mandate, of which I have the honour to enclose an English précis, denying the possibility of any such event.

The movement for provincial autonomy, referred to in my despatch No. 323 of the 14th June, still continues, and steps are in progress in several provinces, including Chekiang, which still owes allegiance to Peking, for the drafting of provincial constitutions. While it is, of course, too much to expect that any such system will prove a panacea for the ills by which China is beset, there is at least ground for the hope that it will undermine to a greater or lesser extent the autocratic position of the present Military Governors, though some of the latter will doubtless contrive to have themselves elected provincial Governors under the new constitutions.

(Copies to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Commander-in-chief China station, Yunnan (under flying seal, Canton), Canton, Hankow (under flying seal, Nanking), Nanking, Shanghai and Major Brooke.)

I have, &c.

REGISTERED No.. 52624

NOTICE TO BINDER

PLEASE LEAVE SPACE HERE FOR INSERTION OF 6 SHEETS

B. ALSTON.

4 Kong

Enclosure in No. 1.

Extract from the "Government Gazette," April 4, 1921.

PRÉCIS OF MANDATE DATED APRIL 3, 1921.

THE form of Government in Chins is provided by the Constitution, and punish- ments have been provided for any who seek to disturb it. In spite of this, rumours of monarchical restoration abound. The Republic has been established for ten years, and even women and children are aware of the good doctrine of democracy; only a madman could think of supporting his own desires in opposition to those of the great majority of the people. The people who distribute these rumours must do so from a desire to create disorder and bring about a general overturn, and the only way to deal with them is to find them out and prevent them from spreading such rumours. The commandant of gendarmerie, police, Governor of the metropolitan area and the senior military and civil authorities of all provinces and territories should conduct strict search, and, on finding such persons, puuish them without mercy to the utmost limit allowed by

the law.

to

From........

Date 21 Oct 19.21

Masao

Subject.....

(Paper not available at time of binding}

S.R.P. 1138.

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