34
Never before in the history of this Chamber have we enjoyed the distinction of doing honour to both! the Chairman of the Provincial Gov- ernment and to the Mayor of Canton at the same time. The occasion is indeed one that calls for a standard of eloquence far beyond my capabili- ties. I can but do my best and if, in the purse of doing so, I should strike a: ccasional note which appears to our guests as too informal for the occasion, I would remind them that their visit is informal and the time is after dinner.
In introducing our official visitors I must of necessity be brief, for the full list of important posts they have already occupied would take far too long to record in the time at my disposal.
His Excellency General Huang Mu- sung is one of China's senior soldiers. He has been President of the National Military Academy and is entitled to regard most of China's present military officers as his pupils. He in Great studied military tactics Britain and Germany and has investigated military affairs on be- half of his Government in both Eur-
has America. He and
the ope unique distinction of being China's first
International delegate at the
as
Disarmament Conference, and, special Commissioner for Thibet and Chairman of the
Thibetan
Commission, he rendered service to his Government.
Mayor's Career
Affairs
signal
the
His Honour Mr. Tsang Yang-fu was a graduate of Peiyang and Pittsburgh Universities. During his brilliant career he has been Director of political training at Canton, Com- missioner of Reconstruction in Kwangtung Provincial Government, Director of the political department of the Whampoa Military Academy, Vice-Chairman of the National Re-
Commission, construction
Vice Member Minister of Railways and of the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang since 1929.
was
Mr. T. L. Soong, the Commissioner of Finance, was to have been with us, but has unfortunately been pre- We vented by illness from doing so. wish him a speedy recovery.
Dr. Philip Tyau, the Special Dele- gate for Foreign Affairs,
Cuba and previously Minister to Panama and Consul General in the Straits Settlements. Being an old friend of mine, I am particularly pleased that circumstances have brought him to Canton. We first met Jone another when he was at Cam- bridge, more years ago than either of he or I care to remember. One the subjects besides Law which he took up at Cambridge with enthusiasm was lawn tennis. Many are the games we have played to- gether and too many are the times when, I regret to say, that powerful forehand drive of his left me stand- ing impotent and disconsolate on the court. If Dr. Tyau's diplomacy is as forceful as his tennis, I foresee period of great activity in H.B.M. Consulate on the Shameen, but knowing Philip Tyau and Herbert Phillips as well as I do, we can rest assured that the game will be played in a true sporting spirit from start to finish. (Applause).
a
Consular Experience Colonel Li Fang was well known to many of us when he was Com- missioner for Foreign Affairs in Hankow, since when he has gained valuable experience as his country's Consul General in Siberia, at Novo Simbirsk.
Mr. Chang Yuen-nan, counsellor to the Chairman, was a graduate of Nanking University and the Military Academy of Japan, and he has held
many important military posts the capital.
in
our
From that all too brief account of the distinguished careers of official guests, it will be seen that they bring to their high offices a reputation and experience which justifies us in confidently looking forward during their administration to an era of recovery and progress.
(Applause).
We are also honoured to have with us to-night a commercial delegation composed of Canton's leading busi- ness and professional men. The delegation is led by Mr. Ho Tsap- ping, the Chairman of the United Chambers of Commerce of Kwang- tung, who, by a happy coincidence, is closely connected in business with your Chairman, a relationship which must surely facilitate that closer co- operation between our two Chambers which we all desire. (Applause).
or
As I mentioned during our Good- will visit to Canton last year, Mr. Ho and I are colleagues in a com- pany to which our Chinese friends long ago thoughtlessly gave the name of "Teen Cheang," "Heavenly Prosperity". We frankly confessed that we wished our friends had given us some other name offering more promise of immediate reward, but this year we have every confidence that, in the merchants' paradise which Your Excellency is about to create by the stabilisation of the currency, we shall be able to discount on earth a little of the prosperity coming to us in heaven. (Laughter).
Stabilisation Benefits
I am perfectly serious when I say that stabilisation of the currency would create a traders' paradise; stabilisation is his dream, violent fluctuation his nightmare and nothing, in the opinion of this Chamber, would be more conducive to recovery than a stable exchange in South China. We therefore look forward with confidence to the national dollar shortly becoming its recognised currency.
"By a happy coincidence, there occurred to-day an incident which draws still closer the bonds of com- mercial union which inevitably link China and Hongkong. I refer to the first landing at Kai Tak of the aero- plane service which carries mails and passengers between Shanghai and Canton. It is most satisfactory to all of us that this
very natural and sensible arrangement has now been made. Hongkong has always been given the benefit of the domestic! rate in respect of charges on mail between here and China. I am glad to learn that a similar rule will apply to the air mail link now inaugurated.
It is a matter for great regret to us that we have not been able to show the commercial party industrial deve- lopment in Hongkong on anything like the scale they showed it to us in Canton last year.
The remarkable progress we wit- nessed during our enjoyable visit fully bears out the description of it given by the American Economic Mission in their recent report that "a vast change is coming over China, a modernisation that as compared with 10 or even five years
ago, marks many centuries." That phrase, I think, aptly describes the great strides made in all directions and provides a striking contrast to the old exploded idea that a century of! change in China is the equivalent of but a few years of change in Europe. If His Honour the Mayor succeeds, as I sincerely hope he will, in carry- ing out the great schemes he has in mind for the improvement of his City and the welfare of his country- men, his administration in Canton will assuredly mark a further cen- tury of progress.
Unification Agreement
But, in my view, of all Chinas' achievements, the unification of the country stands out above the rest. We used to think of unification as a dream that could never come true; to-day it is a reality-and a reality, Gentlemen, which pays a far greater tribute than any words of mine, to the outstanding leadership of Gener- alissimo Chiang Kai-shek and to the wise policies of the Central Government. (Loud applause).
And now a few words on a topic which I am accused of wearing threadbare. His Honour the Mayor said last week that the prosperity of Hongkong depends upon the prosperi- ty of Canton and vice versa; we entirely agree with him, but in the light of the disastrous results of the attempts by almost all nations to create their own prosperity within their own borders, without the help of their neighbours, His Honour might have gone still further and said that no nation can sustain and develop its domestic prosperity with- out the assistance of an ever expand- ing world prosperity. In other words, neither national nor interna- tional recovery will ever be per-
until manently achieved
economic reciprocity and co-operation will take the place of economic isolation and retaliation.
I make no apology, above all in this Colony, for wearing this subject threadbare, for every time an opportunity occurs to raise it, I find fresh and encouraging evidence that Economic Nationalism as practised to-day, has been proved a failure.
Dr. Koo's View
In Dr. Wellington Koo's address, on behalf of China to the Assembly of the League of Nations at Geneva, is this significant paragraph:
"In view of the unrelaxed pursuit of the policy of seeking national self- sufficiency by methods of economic jugglery, it is doubtful that the road to economic recovery is already clear. The dream of economic nationalism has not yet lost its spell over the nations of the world. Barriers to trade of all kinds continue to hamper trade and impede development.”
The inference to be drawn from that statement is surely that if other nations are prepared to remove some of the barriers now obstructing inter- national trade, such as quotas, pro- hibitive tariffs, monopolies and ex- change restrictions, China will follow suit. Whether or not that inference is correct, it was never more essential in the interests of world peace, that the risk of misunderstanding between nations should be reduced to a minimum and every opportunity created for frank and helpful dis- cussion of the many problems that arise. It is our earnest hope, so far as Hongkong and South China are concerned, that the personal contacts made between us during this ex- change of visits may develop into friendships which will create such opportunities, and still further strengthen and promote the bonds of unity between this Colony and her great neighbour. (Loud applause).
In proposing the toast of the even- ing, wish to offer a word of honoured explanation to our other guests, who hold positions of leader- ship in Canton and Hongkong. We ask them to regard themselves on this occasion more in the light of hosts than guests. We thank them all for accepting our invitation to unite with us to-night in doing honour to "Our Distinguished Guests from Canton," which is the toast I now ask them to join with us in drinking, coupling it · with the names of His Excellency the Chairman of the Kwangtung Provincial Government, His Honour the Mayor of Canton and the Chair- man of the Kwangtung Provincial Chamber of Commerce.
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