Canton, July 9.
All is well in Canton—to-day. To-morrow it may be altogether different. This is not said in a spirit of pessimism, but dark clouds have appeared on the horizon, and remains to be seen whether an unkind wind will blow them Kuangtung wards On the whole, since the day when Marshal Li Chi-sen went aboard the gunboat Hoi Foo, starting out on his trip to northern parts, peace and order have been maintained within the confines of this province, banditry has not been rampant, and the "Reds" and anti-Government forces have not shown signs of any unusual strength or activity. It is necessary, then, to look behind the scenes to discern what may next! transpire, Marshal Li's Weakness:
It there have not been visible indications of rejuvenation in the camps of those who fain would wrest the sceptre of authority from the hand of Marshal Li, there is, 1t cannot be gain said, a distinct element of weakness which has eropped up in the Marshal's government. Hig well-wishers. cannot help wondering whether his enemies will not discern this failing strength as have This weakness, is the Generalissimo to find strong man to hold the fort for him during his absence. Neither Wong Shiuchung nor Chan Ming-shua have shown any disposition to come to Canton and stand guard in the interim, For the past two or three months, about three times a week the ver~ na cular journals have published predictions that General Chan has recanted; "he will, beyond the shadow of a doubt, come back here, and in short order." The other four mornings, the same papers have amused their readers by denying these very reports. This journalistic ping-pong game has been froing on up to the last few days, Dut now the most optimistic editor fw ready to concede that all hope must be abandoned, sulking just like the naughty schoolboy who has been reprimanded for putting his feet out into the aisle.
The Unhappy Wong On the part of Wong Shin-hung, it is not' sulkiness, it is not spirit of insubordination, it is not 4 loosening of the bond of friendship which has caused him to keep away from Canton. One can only guess the reason, but it should be remembered that when the leader who is now the Bighth Route Commander last went north, that time to confer with Commander-in-chief Chiang Kat-shek, he was left in charge of the Kuangtung government, but after holding his post but single day was ousted and obliged to flee for his lite.
Out of that incident grew the Red orgy, those hectic days of last December when the Communists set up their government in Canton, Ts it unreasonable to suppose, students of the situation are asking, that Wong Shiuchung, when he thinks of coming down to Canton, finds popping up in the thin air before him, asa spectre in. the night, a vision suggestive of treat tment' similar to that accorded him before? He is, in the first place, a Kuangsi_ man, and hence wir Populas' with many who take prominent part in Kuangtung polities. He was, until quite recent ars, at daggers drawn with Dr.
and for that reason is hated by many in this province.—But whatever the reason, it may be put down hat Wong Shin-hung, in the opinion of his own lieutenants, will not visit Canton while Marshal Li away, unless an unusual emerg-fancy requires his presence here.
'Treasurer Fung Chuk-min, by tue of an order from the Marshal, running' vl affairs. in Canton. To Tang Sai-chang's two posts, ther haa been added. Not only. does ho continue to serve as Chief of Police and an army commander, but he now is acting commanderincchiet "of all the Kuangtune troops, in other words, the Eight Route Commander for the time being.
Chan an Uncertain Factor Rumble of Distant Thunder Heaven and earth were moved by Marshal Li in trying to induce Chan Ming-shu to assume the position as head of the civil branch of the provincial government. And in addition, it was his wish that his Lieutenant should hold his seal act {ing as the supreme head of the mil tary establishment in Kuangtung until such time as the Marshal shall come home. Some say General Chan is the Brutus in the play vhich is being staged by the sout! ern leaders, that he is too ambitious, his time, aspire ing to the dictator's crown. Be that og it may, the fact remains that the has been mone too subservient to the wishes of his superior officer. Prevented by Marshal Li from increasing the size of his army, his appropriation sliced.as a precautionary measure, and given for his territory the country as far removed from Canton as possible, General Chan, it would appear to the poli tical' observer, is sitting back an'
Even while the politicians are absorbed in thought, dwelling on the evil consequences that may follow in the wake of the generalissimo's departure, comes the rumble of the distant thunder. From Nanking a telegram has just come from men in the service of Li Chi-sen, to the government down here. It' sounds A warning to be on the lookout for trouble from. Cheong Fat-ful. Cheung's troops are hungry; they demand ree, and Kuangtung isa fertile land Where it can be found in abundance, Already some of his are known to be near the kuangtung boundary, and a movement of Kuangtung troops northovard in the direction of Wunan nas been reported this very day. Wong Shin-hung may come into the picture here, for the easiest route {nto this province is through Kuangsi, and he is said to be making. preparations to through insurmountable obstacles in the path of Cheung Fat-ful's radical soldiers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.