CO129-501-8 General policy in China 30-11-1926 - 30-11-1926 — Page 136

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succeeded beyond his highest hopes. First of all, discord

had successfully been promoted between the representativos

of the Treaty Powers at Pcking. For example, on the 2nd

December, Mr. O'Malley telegraphed:- "Although the United States' Minister would, I think, acccpted my personal

assurance to the contrary, the bolicf is universal that the

Canton surtaxes were originally proposed by us as part of

the bargain for the removal of the boycott. Circumstan-

tial evidence for this is extremely strong, and it is

important to avoid, so far as is possible, further grounds

just or unjust, on which the other Treaty Powers might

think that wc arc double crossing them" (Pcking telegram

of the 2nd Docombor). The worst that the Canton Soviet

had to foar, when Comrade Ch'en's lotter about "consump-

tion and production taxes" was published on the 20th

September, was that the Treaty Powers would onco moro

unito, as they had done in December 1923, to protect the

intcgrity of the Chinese Maritime Customs by show of

naval force at Canton. Not only had this not happened,

but Great Britain herself, instead of inviting the other

Powers to make an encrgctic protost and to back that

protest by show of force, had proposed tacit acquiosconce

in the new taxes and had thereby alionatcd Japan and the

United States. Doubtloss tho Canton intclligence scrvice

at Poking had discovered this cncouraging fact; and in

any case the long diplomatic silence, followed by tho

mild protest of the 5th Novombor, showed the Cantonese

authoritics quite clearly that they had nothing to fear.

In the next place, a shrewd blow had boon struck by the

Canton Sovict at the integrity of the Chinoso Maritime

Customs: