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even the compliment of a pessing visit could be paid by it to Hong Kong. My bewilderment is only increased when I observe that the Deputation had no hesitation in visit- ing Marshal Wu P'ei-fu and Marshal Sun Ch'uan-fang, with both of whom the Canton Government is actually at war. 3.
Turning now to the recommendations which the Report makes, I notice that there is one constructive suggestion and one only. This suggestion is that His Majesty's Government should by statute hand over the China Indemnity Fund to a Board of Trustees to be created by the Government of China". As soon as the Board is organized the Statutory Advisory Committee is to be dis- solved; in other words, His Majesty's Government are, as soon as the Board has been established, to renounce all further responsibility for the spending of the fund, though it is suggested that they should be sent a copy of the Board's Annual Report. Seeing that by the time the first Annual Report is received (if such a report is ever written) His Majesty's Government will have handed over the fund to the Board unconditionally, the reports might perhaps be filed by His Majesty's Government for perusal by themselves and by Parliament; but the only action which His Majesty's Government could presumably take, in the event of a report disclosing a condition of scandal, would be to make a diplomatic protest to the Government of China. There is not at the moment any Government of China; but the present Peking habit, which seems likely to pyesist, is not to regard diplomatic protests very seriously.
4.
Trustees.
Eleven members are to constitute the Board of
Six of these members are to be Chinese and five are to be British; and all these members are to be appointed in the first instance, and in the first instance
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only,
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