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157
Enclo. No.1.
3
10.
I attach for your information a copy of
some notes that I made of a conversati on which I had
on the 10th May, 1928, with Mr. T'ang Shao-yi, the
first premier of the Chinese Republic, when he and I
were fellow passengers between Hong Kong and Shanghai
in the S.S."Empress of Russia".
11.
In Canton the 1st of January passed without
incident though the police were active and arrested a
1
number of persons on charges of fomenting disturbance
in the interests of Communism.
Trouble is more
workmen.
likely to occur at Chinese New Year, at which date it
is usual for employers to engage and dismiss their
The influence of the Labour Unions which was
able to prevent wholesale dismissals in the past is
now on the wane and employers are expected to take
this opportunity to get rid of a number of unsatis-
factory hands. The men thus affected together with cultivators, whose crops have been ruined by the persistent drought, are expected to provide inflammable
material; but any serious outbreak is considered
improbable. Meanwhile the programme of road
construction throughout the province is expected to
have a good effect by providing employment for men who
might otherwise be driven to take to robbery for a
livelihood.
12.
In the course of the attack on bandit gangs
in the Ku Tau Hills, referred to in paragraph 3 of
Mr. Southorn's despatch of 27th December, 1928, some
thirty or forty prisoners were released and about 20 brigands were killed. The gang numbering several hundreds has been established in the hilly country of the Delta for many years and has constantly preyed
upon
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.