THE TROUBLE IN CHINA.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18926, 15 February 1927, Page 6

THE TROUBLE IN CHINA.

MR H. E. HOLLAND'S VIEWS. RECOGNITION OF CANTON ADVOCATED. irRESS ASSOCIATION' TELEGRAM.) WEffTPORT, February 13. On Saturday evening, Mr H. E. Holland. M.P., Leader of the Opposition, delivered a public address at the Town Hall. West port, on "The Position in China."

Mr Holland said that there were two great movements in China, one re|.ve»entiiiß the strivings of people towards nationhood, and the other a movement of the workers for higher economic standards. Ho'dealt historically with events which led up to the Opium Wars, and terminated with the Treaties of Nanking and Tientsin, compelling China to open her ports to I lie opium traffic. • This, he said, constituted one of the blackest chapters in British history and furnished a solid reason why, next to Japan, Great Britain was more disliked by the Chinese than any other r.atior.. The Taming Rebellion faintly expressed the dawning idea of nationalism, ' and the formation *of that - idea was accelerated by the extraordinary scramble of Western capitalists for trading concessions . 1 territorial acquisitions in" China "froiii ISO? to 1899. Out of that scramble came the Boxer rising, with its outpouring of hatred for the foreigner, and its £04,000.000 indemnitv. Biit they had to remember- that i'»'rhxer clement--was. - something different fi-'in the men of the Kuomintaug. The former, were a comparatively .low typo, while the latter, represented the intellectuality of both the b urgeoisio and the working class. In treaties that were written between IS4'2 and the late 'nineties, they would (iiul the basis of many of China's present day troubles. By these treaties, control of Customs was handed orer to foreigners and extra-territorial rights 'were conferred. The patrolling ot China's inland waters by British and other gunboats was a wholly illegal act. There was.no treaty license whatever for it. and out of that illegality came (,lie Wanhsicn and similar incidents, (mounting, to acts of war against a friendly N nation, and demonstrating that far too much power was exercised I— irresponsible-naval officers. Tho. Shanghai shooting, and tlie'Hong Kong economic blockade of Canton, and Canton's boycott of British goods, were a direct outcome of the efforts on the part of the Chinese workers to improve their industrial conditions, with British : officials unfortunately assuming an "attitude of hostility to the workers. The. British Government should give official i cognition to the Cantdn Government. It was clear that if was the only Government that was representative of the Chinese people, and it was exceedingly false and equally foolish to constantly refer to it as Coiuiiiiinist or "Red." The Ruomintnnc was in no sense Communist; rt was essentially a National party, with n programme which in some respects resembled that of the Labour Party. The British Government's, recent offer to China would be tvcl nied, because it demonstrated her willingness to negotiate, but inasmuch as ittbffered China no real control of her own affairs, it would hardly bo regarded as more than a basis'for dis-; etission. Ho strongly deprecated the concentration., of armed forces in China.-whicjiliuiolved »'-transgression.of the Covenant of ths League of >rtftrojis. ;•; RribaiuA&hduld .follow Russia's; sensible example and meet Ghina on .a footing of complete international fcquality. Britaiu should, hand- back: the .concessions And-relinquish every r.iahfc.flf extra-territoriality. and along with it every mensure of internal interference., such as control of Custom's,etc. If tlu's were done, every suggestion of danger to the- lives of British 1 subjects in China woiild disapoear. if it ever existed.' which' he doubted. Britain had everythin e to !o«e r-nil nothing to gain by war. and the Labour movement would use whatever influence it might possess, to ensure that the roarraneemenfs made would bo bv a process of reason. • aiifl not Tjv arbitrament of thp mronV Hie ri<*ht.<t of exnloitntion held by British industrial capitalists and financial magnates' inChina were most certainly: not worth the sacrifice of one British soldier's life, and if they should succeed in involving Britaiu in war on their behalf, he would ( never he a party fi New Zealand taking part in it. Th*» Labour movement stood solidly- in- line with the Labour Parties of Great Britnin and every other Dominion in declaring against armed intervention.