CO129-501-8 General policy in China 30-11-1926 - 30-11-1926 — Page 112

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Conference, composed of representatives of the Signatory Powers and of such other Powers as might desire to participato and adhere to the treaty,

should determine the dato from which those sur-

taxes should be collected, the purposo to which

they should be devoted and the conditions upon

which they should be granted, Such a Special Con-

ference did as a fact moet in Poking last year;

but it adjourned re infecta, because, China had

disintegrated and there was no Government recog-

nized by the Signatory Powers in any part of tho

country.

9

6. Under those circumstances Mr. Brenan

expressed the boliof that the Cantonese authori-

ties were sincere in their scheme for ending the

boycott and advised that we should fall in with

Comrado Ch'en's proposal, arranging (if possible)

to have those "consumption and production taxos"

collected for the Canton Soviet by the Chinese

Maritime Customs. On the other hand Sir R.Macleay,

His Majesty's Minister at Poking, had gravo doubt

as to the sincerity of the proposal made by Com-

rado Ch'ên for ending the boycott. He pointed out

that a convincing proof of the intention of the

Cantonose to continue their violently anti-British

policy and their Bolshevik or Communistic programm

was to be found in their rovival of the anti-British

portion

boycott in tho northern frontier of Hunan provinco.

as soon as thoir army occupied it, and in the

attempts of Cantonoso agitators in Hankow to work up an anti-British domonstration and to encourago labour troubles in foreign and nativo factories

(Poking

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