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35095-
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It is a somewhat interesting commentary on
the situation that Mr. Wu Hon-man, the new Minister for
Foreign Affairs in Canton, who is rabidly anti-British, has
recently sent his daughters back to the Colony.
3.
I telegraphed to you on the 1st August regard-
ing the situation on the frontier. I attach a copy of a Police report regarding the shooting of women at a ferry on the Sham Chun River. On the 26th July a Mr. Smith,
Manager of Messrs. Whiteaway Laidlaw and Company, walked
with his wife across the frontier railway bridge into
Chinese territory, where they were arrested by a labour
picket. Mrs. Smith was permitted to return across the
bridge, but Mr. Smith was taken to the Military headquarters
at Sham Chun, where he was thoroughly searched. After some
hours detention he was sent back into British territory.
Most drastic steps are taken to prevent
Chinese from reaching the Colony, and those in authority
in Canton are doing their utmost to enforce an embargo on
all food-stuffs and other goods, in spite of which some
small quantity of supplies continues to reach Hongkong from various parts of the Delta. Efforts are being made to
obtain cattle and pigs from Hoihow and Kwong Chow Wan.
As I have already reported, the export from
4.
the Colony of rice, flour, tinned and preserved food-stuffs, coal, and petroleum and petroleum products have been prohibited, except under special licence. It has been found however that this prohibition, while undoubtedly inflicting hardship upon Canton, has at the same time had a detrimental effect upon the Colony's trade. For example
rice of a value of $6,000,000, the bulk of which ordinarily
goes to Canton and the Delta, was locked up and deteriorat-
ing, while fresh supplies ceased to come forward. The
embargo was accordingly removed and the trade is beginning
to
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