9
434
of July about 250,000 Chinese (including strikers) went away: From about the end of July these people began to dribble back, mostly via Macao, and it is believed that 50,000 to 60,000 of them have returned. But for the strict surveillance exercised by the strike-pickets at Canton and elsewhere in South China a con- siderably larger number would have come back. As a matter of fact, some of those who have got through have done so with great difficulties and, in some cases, even personal danger.
11. At the beginning of the exodus there was a veritable stampede for accommodation on the steamers and trains; and this panic has directly and indirectly caused great damage to the trade and money market of the Colony, from which they have not yet recovered.
Strike-Pickets in Canton, &c.
12. Once the strikers and others had gone up to Canton and the interior districts, the Canton Authorities and the Strike Com- mittee took steps to prevent their return to Hongkong. Men who attempted to come back were flogged through the streets, or exposed for hours in the sun. Some labourers attempted to board the steamers for Hongkong by sampans, but the sampans were seized and burnt, and their owners, whether men or women, severely beaten. Four innocent women lost their lives through attempting to cross the frontier at Shumchun into our territory with fruit and vegetables: one was shot by the pickets, and the other three were drowned in the attempt to escape. These acts of terrorisation have not been relaxed either in Canton or at Shumchun except in cases where the pickets have been bribed.
Economic Disturbances.
13. This trouble has shaken our economic structure to its foundations. The Canton Authorities have declared, or con- nived at, a complete boycott against us. No British ships are allowed to be loaded or unloaded in Canton; ships of other nationalities carrying British goods are similarly boycotted; merchants are forbidden to trade with us; and attempts have been made to destroy British goods in stock. In effect, Canton is waging a war against us, only with means other than guns and gas.
}
Part II.
GOVERNMENTAL AND OTHER MEASURES.
Warning to Intending Strikers.
14. Several days before the strike began, the Hon. Secretary for Chinese Affairs, in an interview granted to the general repre- sentative of the Chinese Press, stated that in the event of a strike the Government might require all idle persons to leave the Colony. This policy has been carried out as far as possible, and has had the expected advantageous results: it has conserved food supplies, kept their prices within reasonable limits, and pre- served the peace of the Colony. On the other hand it has more
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.