BRITAIN AND CANTON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19390, 27 July 1926, Page 9

BRITAIN AND CANTON.

THE TRADE BOYCOTT. AN ABORTIVE CONFERENCE. Reuter. HONG-KONG. July 25. A conference was held at Canton with a view to overcoming the anti-British boycott. It failed to arrive at a settlement. ' The British delegates subsequently stated, however, that they were prepared to agree to a settlement' on the basis of an industrial loan for the development. pf. Canton, on condition that a loop-line was built to connect the Canton-Hankow and Canton-Kowloon railways and that provision was made for the employment of a British engineer-in-chief and a British chief accountant. The British delegates also intimated* that they were ready to consider alternative industrial enterprises. The Chinese delegates replied that they must have time in which to consider tfie proposals which they would refer to the Canton Government. In the course of their reply to assertions made by Canton delegates the British representatives argued that the boycott of British trade was not voluntary abstention from commercial relations with the British, but had been imposod on the unwilling people by a small, but powerful organisation which had maintained the boycott by force of arms. Those concerned would not hesitate to shoot their own countrymen when tHfe latter tried to continue normal relations. The British delegation entered an indignant protest against an attempt by means of unscrupulous propaganda to throw the blame on the Government of Hongkong and on the British nation. They said the Government of Hongkong was prepared to assist in the development of those provinces with which the colony was brought into immediate contact.