893.00/3587
The Consul General at Canton (Bergholz) to the Secretary of State
[Received November 3.]
Sir: Referring to my despatch No. 139 of the 28th instant informing the Department of the revolt of General Lee Fu Lin, Commissioner of Defence of Canton and Waichow with headquarters on the Island of Honam, opposite Canton, and of General Wei Pang Ping, Commissioner of Police of Canton, and of their demand upon General Mo, the Military Governor at Canton, for his resignation, 1 now have the honor to advise the Department that there is no change in the situation and that delegates of the two factions are endeavoring to arrange a peaceful settlement of all the questions involved in the resignation of General Mo.
[Page 478]I called this morning upon the French Consul General and suggested that in his capacity of Senior Consul, he should address himself to General Mo and to Generals Lee and Wei, deprecating, as strongly as possible, an attack upon the city, not alone for the foreign interests involved, but to spare unnecessary suffering to thousands of its peaceful inhabitants and to preserve from injury one of the oldest and most celebrated cities of the world. My Colleague at once agreed to communicate with the rival factions in the sense indicated by me.
Translations of the three leaflets dropped on Canton from an aeroplane on Monday the 27th instant, referred to in my despatch No. 139, I now have the honor to enclose for the information of the Department.46
A copy of this despatch has been transmitted to the Legation at Peking.
I have [etc.]
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