The Military Government has issued a further statement to the following effect: Unnecessary alarm has been created by the report that the Military Government of the Republic of China at Canton is about to seize the Customs. The Military Government desires to put itself in the place of the so-called Peking Government, in the Constitutionalist Provinces in taking this step, which is intended to open the eyes of the Peking Government, and to compel it to introduce sensible reforms, with the object of reuniting China.
"The Military Government will not in the least jeopardize the interests of foreign bond-holders or interfere with the existing management of the Customs. Any unreasonable opposition to the action of the Military Government will necessarily support the corrupt Peking Government in_ retarding the prospects of peace."'—Reuter-
Persuasive Arguments Addressed to Diplomatic Body by Southern Envoy The following is the full memorandum addressed by the Canton Government to the Diplomatic Body on the subject of its claim to the southern portion of the Customs surplus. It is an interesting document and its arguments are put with considerable cogency and skill. public good and to carry on useful and constructive works. One of the very first acts of the present Canton Government was the prohibition of all forms of gambling, an act which has deprived it of a great source of revenue amounting to more than $8,000,000 a year. This is mentioned here not with the idea of claiming credit for a meritorious deed, but to bring out the fact that when there is so much to be undone as well as to be done after the terrible misrule of Kuangtung by the Kuangsi militarists, public interests will suffer owing to Jack of funds required for useful and constructive purposes, of which a few instances may be cited.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.