Directory_and_Chronicle_1932 — Page 929

CANTON

849

!

Kwangtung again declared its independence, but this did not prevent blood- shed. General Lung was denounced as a traitor to the Republic by General Tchen, who attacked Canton at the head of a large army. There was consi- derable destruction of property and much loss of life before matters were settled by General Lung's transference to another post. In 1921 Dr. Sun Yat Sen was proclaimed by his followers "President of China." In 1922 Sun went to Kweilin, in Kwangsi, to make preparations for his projected punitive expedition to Peiping, but his forces never got within a thousand miles of the city, and the hopes which he had based on his alliance with Chang Tso-lin were destroyed by the defeat of this Tuchun's forces by Wu Pei-fu. In the meantime, Sun had alienated his chief lieutenant, Chen Chiung-ming, and in the middle of the year Chen's supporters put Sun and his followers in Canton to flight. Sun took refuge on the warship Wing Fung, and later fled to Shanghai. Chen remained in Kwangtung, as Commander-in-Chief f the Forces, and his nominee, Chan Chik-yue, a merchant of Hongkong, was appointed Civil Governor in September. Early in January, 1923, Dr. Sun's sympathisers sent a force composed of Kwangsi and Yunnanese soldiers to invade Kwangtung, and Canton quickly fell into their possession. Chen re- tired to Waichow; the Civil Governor had fled some days previously to Hong- kong. Sun remained in possession throughout the year and also throughout 1924. The ranks of the Merchants Volunteer Corps-which had been formed with Government approval some years before, with a view to ensuring greater security against plunder by pirates-increased to very large dimensions and Sun began to see in it a serious menace to his authority. When a large consignment of arms and ammunition, imported under Government permit, was seized by Dr. Sun's orders there was open revolt by the merchants. Business was entirely suspended for several days and was only resumed on Sun promising to release the arms. There was great delay, however, in ful- filling the promise, and public feeling became highly incensed against Dr. Sun, who finally gave orders to his troops for the suppression of the revolt and the annihilation of the Volunteer Corps. Accordingly, on October 15th the whole commercial district of Saikwan, which the volunteers had barricaded for defence, was surrounded by Sun's overwhelming forces. There was des- perate fighting in the streets for several hours. Incendiary gangs assisted the Government forces, and several hundred houses were destroyed by fire. Within about twenty-four hours the Volunteers were dispersed and the revolt was suppressed. Trustworthy figures as to the casualties in this conflict are not obtainable, but a conservative estimate puts the casualties in the neighbour- hood of a thousand, while the material damage done was estimated at about $20,000,000. After the affray Sun mulcted the merchants in heavy fines. This did not promote happier relations, and when Sun Yat-sen departed in Novem- ber to participate in the conferences for the re-establishment of peace and good government in China, it brought a sense of relief in business circles though little improvement was noticeable in the administration of Canton under Mr. Hu Han-min down to the end of the year.

Another disgraceful episode of the year was a dastardly attempt to as- .assinate M. Merlin the Governor-General of Indo-China. The French com- munity were entertaining His Excellency at a dinner in the Victoria Hotel on the Shameen on the night of June 19th, when an Annamite threw a bomb into the room through the open window. Though the assassin missed his mark, he succeeded in killing five French residents and seriously injuring others. The miscreant himself was drowned in the river while trying to evade cap- ture.

Early in January, 1925, Sun Yat-sen, while still attending the Peace Con- ference in Peking, was reported to be seriously ill and on March 12th, news of his death was received in Canton. Hostilities commenced between the Kuomintang forces and those of Chen Chiung-ming in February. Under General Chiang Kai-shek who commanded the Russian instructed and officered Whampoa Cadets, remarkable progress was made along the East River and Swatow was finally captured. The troops of Chen's party were utterly