CO129-571-9 Sino-Japanese War- Canton-Kowloon railway 25-3-1938 - 28-2-1939 — Page 154

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Canton.

then I met him one afternoon (in November leat:)

at Government House shortly after he had taken up his

post at Hong Kong, in the presence of His Excellency

the Governor (Sir Geoffry Northoote), kr. Nakamura

certainly went so far as to suggest that such an arranéement

(1.e. no bombing of the line against no carriage of war

supplies) might be sccantable to his Government.

3.

Wanton destruction of this line by either side

Its

in these hosti: ties neema to me quite unneces85ry,

length is comparatively so short that its destruction, and

the destruction of such rolling stocks as could not first

de "evacuated”, by the Chinees, in the event of an

attack on Canton, would serve very little military purpose

while the amount of war materiala destined for Canton

itself which are carried by this railway, now that there

is a road, must be relatively amall. (I have no figures

for reference.) The Japanese can with equel, or greater,

bomb the loop line and the canton-ffankow Railway

along which the bulk of war materials arriving through liong

ong must proceed.

I do not know whether through our mediation, an

agreement could be reached with both sides, whereby the

Japanese guaranteed immunity and in return the Chinese gave

ua and the Japanese an undertaking to leave the line and

all rolling stock which they were unable to remove intact.

The attempt might at least be worth while, either through

the medium of Hia Najesty's Ambassador at Tokyo at one end

and Your Excellency at the other, or, if preferred,

preliminary