CO129-477 - Public Offices - 1922 — Page 284

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.].

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The Government's representatives thereupon met the seamen's delegates, who put forward the following matters for discussion:-

(a.) The reopening of the Seamen's Union.

(b) The question of persous in custody in connection with the strike. (e) The question of banishment of members of the Seamen's Union.

(d) A claim by the guild that they should be allowed to send au interpreter to

attend the signing on or off of articles by Chinese seamen, (e.) The collision between Chinese and armed Government forces on the Shatin Road

on the 4th March.

With regard to (a) the Government's representatives referred to the Government's former proclamation regarding the reopening of the guild, and agreed that a public announcement by the delegates of a complete settlement would meet the conditions then in posed.

In answer to (b) the Government's representatives said that they would ask the Governor to release persons who were held in custody solely on the ground that they were members of the union. They would inform the Governor that the delegates had raised the question of men imprisoned for offences against the law, but they could bold out no hope of remission of sentence.

In reply to (c) an assurance was given that no officers or members of the Seamen's Union would be banished on the ground of holding office or of membership.

In connection with (d the Government's representatives were impressed by a statement made by the delegates that ship's articles were written in English only and not in Chinese, and that in many cases men signed under the impression that they were entitled to various privileges which were refused to them when they went on shipboard. It was agreed that any members of the union who so desired should be allowed to take with them to the signing on or off of articles an interpreter from the union, with the proviso that this agreement was not to apply to foreign consulates. It was further stated that the matter of improving the Government's arrangements for providing an adequate interpretation of articles would be looked into.

The last point (e) was met by a promise that a public judicial enquiry would be held, and that the Government would be prepared to consider favourably the giving of compensation in the case of any persons who had been killed or injured.

The delegates thereupon agreed that a settlement satisfactory in every detail had been come to, and they issued a notice to that effect on the same evening.

On the morning of the 6th March the Governor in Council rescinded the Order in Council declaring the Seamen's Union to be an unlawful society, and on the same evening the necessary steps were taken to release persons held in custody on the ground of membership of the Seamen's Union, and also a number of other persons who had been detained for further enquiry in connection with the general strike.

(

CHINA.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[F 1577/927/10]

No. 1.

[April 26.]

SECTION 1.

Consul-General Jamieson to the Marquess Curzon of Kedleston.-(Received April 26.)

(No. 3.) My Lord,

Canton, March 17, 1922. I HAVE the honour to forward herewith copies of a despatch which I have addressed to His Majesty's Minister at Peking, summing up the causes underlying the outbreak of the recent seamen's strike in Hong Kong.

I have, &c.

Enclosure I in No. 1.

Consul-General Jamieson to Sir B. Alston.

J. W. JAMIESON.

(No. 8. Very Confidential.) Sir,

Canton, March 13, 1922. IN my immediately preceding despatch of the 11th March, I had the honour to submit a short account of the history and origin of the late seamen's strike, and I now propose to endeavour to analyse the causes underlying the attempt to transform it into what may well be described as an anti-foreign-if not purely anti-British---

movement.

2. As already reported, the recent apparent indifference of the shipowners towards the demands of the seamen for an increase of wages and the withdrawal of their counter-offer at an early stage resulted in an exodus of the men from Hong Kong into Kwangtung, where they were at once got hold of by the Kuo Min Tang and fell under the direct influence of Hsieh Ying-po, an arch-Socialist of the Marxian type. Sun Yat-sen, the acknowledged head of the Kuo Min Tang, was not slow to see that chance had placed in his hand a formidable weapon wherewith to annoy Great Britain, and more particularly the British colony of Hong Kong, against whom he cherishes deep-seated grudges of long standing, and accordingly gave the agitation the whole-hearted support of himself and his party.

3. The grounds on which Sun bases his antagonism to us are many. He feels, in the first place, convinced that we are determined to crush his efforts to become the ruler of a united China under a Cantonese hegemony, and as indicative of this attitude he cites in season and out of season our refusal officially to recognise his Government. He ignores the fact that the other Powers equally refuse so to do, and lays the principal blame on us, because Sir John Jordan was for many years clean of the Diplomatic Body, and hence supposed largely to sway its decisions in matters such as allocation of customs surplus, arms embargo, &c., and because we are consistently loyal to the policy of recognising one Government only. With the exception of my French colleague and myself, all the local consuls have had relations, either official or unofficial, with him, and one at least did not fail to comment disingenuously on my attitude of aloofness. Capital will no doubt be made out of the present visit to Canton of the Minister of the United States of America, for the purpose of contrasting the American and the British attitudes. The various proscriptions to which Sun has from time to time been subjected in British colonies and the restrictions placed on the activities of his agents therein are additional grievances, as is the criticism levelled in the British preas throughout the Far East against his fanciful projects for developing China. He is convinced that at the bottom thereof lies concealed a determination, by strangling the trade of Canton, to increase that of Hong Kong and to encroach more and more on Chinese territory. The most irrelevant facts are adduced to bolster up this fixed idea, such as our pressing for the completion of the loop-line, our naval patrol of the West River, the non-registration of Chinese schools in the Straits Settlements and Malaya- in short, any action we take, which, although perfectly justifiable in itself, may conflict with a theory of sovereign rights which he and his followers have set up for themselves.

[8262 cc-1]

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