The true origins and cause of the outbreak are obscure. The leaders of the rising claimed that Was a spontaneous movement of the oppressed and indignant farmers of the district at a fresh and intolerable increase of taxation.
The see the Chinese farmers, who in the course of years have probably become! accustomed to excessive and irregular taxation, suddenly rising like ts all on their own, nor is it made clear why those in the Hslangho district Jshould have been the only ones to 0 30.
But according to the pamphlets distributed by the "independent government" the farmers were not only tired of the excessive taxation, but wanted to throw off the rule of Nanking and were calling for aa independent government of the North (which, presumably, was not going to tax' them). It is "interesting. 19 note that, nevertheless, one of the rst acts of the new government was to make a levy of $10,000 ca the happy shopkeepers and householders of Hslangho.
The Japanese authorities denied that they had anything to do. with movement. They "have always been strictly neutral, so much $0, that they naturally would be equally bound not to interfere with any independence movement.
Some Japanese caught among the rioters by the Peace Preservation Corps on the frst day were gently ut firmly removed from the scene by a detachment of Japanese gendar-_ merie sent out specially to fetch them,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.