CO129-496 - Public Offices - 1926 — Page 184

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be promptly suppressed, quite failed to restore sen-

Ticence.

I myself was however deceived by a positive sumurance given to the Commissioner of Customa by

the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs that it was a false al::*m and that no landing had taken place.

5. The tension centimed during the following day, January 19th, in the course of which efforts were made to intre moe Chinese mɛrahandise and valuables into foreign premises. To the best of my oelief ali these attempts failed, though political refugees were given admittance both to the American and Franch Kos- pitals. The premises of Mr. Katsumata, a Japanese mar→

hant, huve however for wecke past been piled with Chinese effects, for which no doubt Mr. Katsumata has resped a hundseme profit.

An

6. By a strange ceincidence the Japanere destroy- or *AĢI* arrived here from Formosa on January 18th. armod party was promptly landed in Mr. Katsumeta * house.

The

7. By Jamiary 20th the last doubt of the reality of the invasion had disappeared. I learned from offi- cial sources that the Canten troops, who must have been in greater strength than that originally reported, had advanced without opposition and almost without firing a shot to the river about 3 miles from Kiungchow. British s.s. Devavengse had arrived from Tourane in the morning bound for Hongkong and sailing at daylight on Jummary 21st, In the afternoon a series of officers and secretaries culled to ask me for permits to travel to Hongkong by this ship, which is not normally

allowed