No one with any spark of the sonne of responsibility Mvoult wish to raise unnecessary genres; but it is difficult to avoid the conclusion, on reading the Canton Bolshevists' Note to the British and French Consuls General in Shameen, that they are deliberately trying to force a war with Great Britain, Let us, for a moment, recall the events of the past week. On the 22nd Sir James Jamie-von wrote to Dr. C. C, Wu warn-of a plot to attack the Shameen on the next day; adding that he, Sir James, had carefully instructed his nationals, that is all the British on Shameen, not. {o interfere in any way with the: intended procession, so long as. they were not molested; but further, that Shameen "would take every necessary measure to protect itself and for any: bloodshed Canton would be solely_ responsible.
On the 23rd the procession took place and soldiers in it, believed to be cadets from the Whampoa Military Academy, certainly under orders from a Russian officer, opened fire on Shameen killing M. Pasquier and a Japanese and wounding other foreigners, From the nature of the wounds and from other evidence there were Chinese snipers on the roofs, who must have been put there before the procession came, The French sailors fi replied to the fire, then the British and volunteers. For a little time the shooting was very brisk, then it died" away with some shots by the Chinese from the roofs, The foreign forces it is to be observed began firing last and ended first. The C nese attack strikes one as not only criminal but. silly—unless iberately planned to fasten a quarrel on the British 48 subsequent events suggest.
The first of these events was Dr, C. C, Wu's Note to Sir James Jamieson of June 24, protesting Against what he had the effrontery to call the unprovoked attack by the British on a peace ful (sie) procession, The last of these events is the Note 1 ported to-day. It will be membered that the evidence that the Chinese fired of: Sir James Jamieson own observation, of which he prepared to take his oath; Miss Julia Meadows' (an American lady missionary) personal observation; the eye-witness of several other Americans; the Public confession of Mr. Baxter, of the Canton Christian College, who publicly abjures the Chi. hose statement to which by had set his name, without knowing! what he was signing, and ex. presses his full satisfaction that the Chinese fired first. Lastly Wwe may mention the French Consul's note to Dr. C. C. Wu the 26th instant, asking to be informed whether the Canton Government does or does not ap-Prove the attack made on the 28rd, and whether it will live Up t0 its promise to protect forners oF prefers to outlaw. me teas From the Note published today it fs clear that the Canton Bolshevists are grievously upset at having dragged the French into the quarrel, 'Tu defiance of the French Consul's Note they assure him that they! Know the French did not fire first,. and. every effort is made tovsuggest to the French that they should stand apart' "and leave Great Britain in isolation, Similarly they try to remove the United States from the arena by! insinuating that the American Consul is cooperating with them in an inquiry. For which we do not imagine that he will thank them, Fiom all circumstances. the! following inference is clear: (2) That the plot mentioned by, Sir James Jamieson in his note of the 22nd instant was gen-nine; (2) That the intention was, to provoke the British to fire and then declare that they had! fired on an innocent and defen-celes crowd; (3) That the plot. having badly failed it is now necessary to brazen it out on [the original lines and steadily, decline to admit other nations to a share in the quarrel. Of which it need only be said that! the Canton Bolshevists are singularly astray in their concep-{tions of the French and Ameri-
The Note itself is so appallingly provocative that if one were dealing with any other nation, it could only have one meaning.—But experience int China teaches one that things are by no means always what they seem. It is curious that the Note is sent by Foo Ping-shang and not by C. C. Wu, and the manner of its sending jis casual and boorish. Low as he has fallen, Dr. C. C. Wu is} rot the man, to disregard diplomatic punctilio. In fas Just as the Empress Dowager's counsels were alternately ed by hotheads and moder 1900, it is possible that the counsels of Canton wobble from day to day.
One obvious factor in the site! vation and a bad one is that Moscow is striving might and in to drag China into 2 war with Great [Britain. That is quite clearly understood in London, and there is a very firm \determination- on the Bi side that Moscow shall be dis appointed.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.