CO129-493 - Governor Sir Clementi - 1926 [6-8] — Page 419

ON SECRET (2)

PRINTED

FOR

Ust

Bastern No. 144

COLONIAL

UFFIC

C.17695

16 SEP

6

416

GOVERNMENT HOUSE,

HONGKONG, 7th August, 1926.

Sir,

At a meeting of Executive Council held on the

6th August, 1926, your telegram of the 4th August on the

subject of the boycott negotiations was carefully considered.

I also supplied a copy of it to Mr. J. F. Brenan, His

}

Majesty's Consul-General at Canton, and I had the advantage of discussing it with him today when he came to spend the week-end with me in Hong Kong.

2:

We share you view that the Canton Government is probably not sincere in demanding an international enquiry into the Shakee-Shameen incident of the 23rd June, 1925, and we agree that this enquiry may have been proposed by the Canton delegates to gain time, in view of the military situation in Hunan, as well as to save face". They probably also considered that successful anti-British propaganda' could be made out of the proposal for an enquiry, whether unconditionally refused or conditionally accepted by His Majesty's Government. We further agree that, if the Canton Government were willing effectually to remove the boycott, as a condition precedent to the proposed enquiry, the immediate gain would be so great as to outweigh the dangers which I indicated in the 7th paragraph of my secret despatch of the 28th July to be inherent in an international

A enquiry, even though confined solely to ascertaining the RIGHT HONOURABLE

"For 16412

LIEUTENANT COLONEL L.C.H.S. AMERY, M.P.,

facts

20.,

&C..

20.