This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.]
703
CHINA
De cypher, Mr. Palairet.
(Peking).
July 1st, 1925.
D.
1.30 a.m.
July 2nd, 1925.
R.
9.00 a.m.
July 2nd, 1925.
No. 189.
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#
Their
thang Tso-lin sent a Chinese emissary yesterday
and General Sutton to see me this morning.
statements were conflicting but latter's are more
authoritative. He told me that Chang Tso-lin has
decided that moment has come for him to try issue with Feng and his Bolshevik allies but he is not sure that he is strong enough and wants British help. What he really wants is money to enable him to carry on campaign which may be prolonged, I told General Sutton that it was quite useless to expect His Majesty's Government to intervene financially or otherwise, reminding him that you had only a few days ago given assurance in House of Commons that His Majesty's Government would not support any rival faction in China. I said to both emissaries that it seemed to me plain that if he could not succeed without foreign help he could not succeed at all.
Chinese emissary intimated that Chang Tao-lin did not expect British help now but hoped for our support if his policy brought him into open conflict with Russia. I said this was hypothetical case which I could not discuss. He also said that Chang Tso-lin would not move until the autum so as not to deprive people of harvest which is expected to be unusually good. On the other hand General Sutton said that he contemplated moving in the course of the next few days but not unless he had our support. This I think is merely a form of blackmail.
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