LIH, Fox and Mr, Ex M. Gull Express their Opinions on the Present Situation in China From Ove Own London, Nov, 17.
Mr. H. H. Fox, the commercial Councillor at the British Legation, Peking, attended on Tuesday, Novem. ber 15, a special meeting of the Far Eastern Section of the London Chamber of Commerce, to answer questions which any member might] ike to Address to him on Chinese trade, Mr. F, Anderson was in the Chair, and in a few introductory] remarks, expressed the view that} it was desirable that the status of Treaty Ports, where much greater interests were involved than at}
Hankow, should not be materially] altered, unless the Chinese Authorities could provide an Administration capable of guaranteeing security to life and property.
In the course of his remarks Mr. Fox stated that in moving up and down Great Britain since he arrived here, he had been very much} struck with the amount of business] done with China at the present time, although Manchester, course, had its own special difficulties. It was gratifying to him to see that this was the case. It meant that even the wretched Civil War now existing could not entirely} check trade, and he felt that when this ended there would be a great commercial revival. He had noticed that "The Times" had published an article that day, stating that there had been no change in the Chinese situation, He did not quite agree with that view. Th: merchants and educated classes in China were! getting really very tired of military) domination, and as far as they could, they were going to close their purse-strings. It was, though, very dificult for them to do so in view of the pressure brought, to bear on them. Some of the leaders of the Nationalist Party, moreover, were beginning to realise that they] were never going to unify China by fighting one another. There was, in his opinion, a chance of the two Parties settling down side by s one in the North, and one in the South, and in that ease, fighting] would cease,, and trade would have
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.