EVENTS LEADING TO CRISIS

Evening Star, Issue 19522, 1 April 1927, Page 7

EVENTS LEADING TO CRISIS

GREAT BRITAIN’S ATTITUDE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT'S DECISION The position in China formed the subject of an interesting address given to members of the Auckland Rotary Club by the Rev. W. 6. Monckton. He traced the growth' of ‘the Nationalist movement in China, tl\e growing desire of tbs Chinese for rights of their own, and the masterly way in which British diplomats were handling the present grave situation. Mr Monckton quoted the remark of a leading writer of current history that the more he looked into Britain’s I foreign policy, the more he found to I admire in it. In China to-day there was one of the most complicated and : delicate situations with which Great Britain had ever been faced, but the extremely skilful manner in which it had been met by the Foreign Office was worthy of the highest praise. _ i The speaker outlined events in history that had been contributing factors to the present outburst. Treaties had been made with China by foreign Powers. In all. twenty-six treaties had been negotiated. These_ were promised revision at the Washington Conference, but there was a considerable amount of wire-pulling, and China, to some degree, suffered. TWO FACTIONS ARISE. Detailing the birth of the Kuomintang, die Chinese Nationalist Party, Mr Monckton said that during the war President Wilson bad thought in all sincerity that China would benefit from a brcainng-off of relations with Germany, and had counselled China accordingly. Diplomatic relations with Germany were broken off, but in the Chinese" Parliament there was a majority against declaring war with GerI many. j The President of the Chinese Republic, leader of the war-like party ; established himself as a military dictator. The constitutional party, opposed to war, moved to Canton and set up as • an opposition Government, and a war I arose between people who believed in war and those who did not. The Government at Canton wa.s not an official Government.' Chang Tso-lin, in power ' at Peking, was really at the head of China, and he was supported in this ; position by Japan. Russia, Japan’s standing enemy, sided with the Cantonese. Eventually differences were settled.

' Then there came the wire-pulling at Washington,” continued Mr Monckton, “ and at this conference there was a piece of astute but perfectly honorable diplomacy. The British Admiralty bad in its possession a document showing that France contemplated building a number of submarines/ The matter was left to Balfour, .and Balfour’s diplomacy was simplicity itself. He approached the French representative and told him that he was acknowledged to be one of the finest orators in Europe. Would he not give them ■ some of the experiences of his stricken country during the war, something that would move them ? PROPAGANDA IN CHINA.

“The French reor'=ncntati-.'e did. Among other • things b" described the terrors of submarine warfare, the sinking of merchant ships and the resulting slaughter of innocent women and children. Lord Balfour and Mr G. E. Hughes, United States Secretary of State, were so moved by Shis that they drafted an agreement to prohibit submarines from attacking merchant ships, and as a great honor allowed the French delegate to be the first to sign it. For this he lost his official head on his retxirn to France, and the act earned Balfour the thanks of his country.” The conference .was a nine-Power conference, the speaker continued, but France and Japan left feeling that they had got the worst of matters. Japan’s grievance lay chiefly in the direction of foreign policy toward China. It was proposed to give China the standing of an independent nation and to call a tariff conference.

Then propaganda began its work in China, insidious propaganda which said that Britain ivas to blame for not calling the Tariff _ Commission, and that she was standing for extra territoriality. Russia and Germany supported the scheme for abolishing extra territoriality, and this caused them to be looked on in China as friends and Britain as an enemy. Then, again, the surtaxes that were_ to be imposed were to be of a protective nature, and this would have hit Japan very hard. Japan wished China to 'waive the imposition of surtaxes in its own case, but to levy them against other foreigu Powers. POLICY OF BRITAIN. Britain’s memorandum to the other Powers in December last year had dispelled the doubts as to her attitude toward China. It was state® that Britain would sanction Chinese law in courts where British magistrates were sitting, and would _ also sanction the uso ot Chinese law in cases where British subjects were plaintiffs or defendants. The memorandum, together with Sir Austen Chamberlain’s famous speech at Birmingham, showed that Britain was thoroughly sympathetic with the difficulties confronting the Chinese as a nation.

The Press in China was largely controlled by the Japanese. Its aim was to create a situation where Britain would be compelled to use the big stick. Throughout the present upheaval Britain had acted with wonderful restraint. The attitude of the naval unit at Hankow and the way in which ail along riots had been suppressed, had won the admiration oA the whole world. In conclusion, Mr Monckton said that the Chinese were awakemng from an old civilisation to a new civilisation. “China is waiting for a spintual revolt/ 5 he said. <( Is Cninri the only country whose people are waiting for that?”