Source 3

Transcript

On May 3^rd, a thunderbolt descended upon Peking. In the first place, the text of our secret agreement with Japan of February 1917 was disclosed, in itself sufficiently disheartening to these Chinese patriots who had looked to Great Britain to see that China received fair play as regards the retrocession [return] of the German rights. In the second place a telegram was received from the Chinese Delegates in Paris to the effect that the Great Powers had decided China must either accept the position as defined in the treaties and agreements extorted from her by Japan in May 1915 – that is as a result of the infamous twenty-one demands, or, in the alternative, that she must abide by her railway agreements signed by Tokyo on September 28^th, 1918.

Up to this time it had been the hope of all Chinese that the Great Powers would in the long run extricate the Chinese Government from the hopeless pass into which they had fallen through their own folly in signing away their rights to Japan as late as September last. All the more bitter then the disappointment when it was realised that they were to be held to their plighted word.

As soon as the news spread, which it did with great rapidity intense excitement became evident throughout the whole country, and this came to a head in the capital in the form of a gigantic demonstration of Students on Sunday May 4^th. The demonstration which at the outset was perfectly orderly passed a series of resolutions calling for justice to China, and set out on a procession through the streets. It eventually converged on the house of Tsau Ju Lin, to whom is ascribed in popular esteem the main role in the surrender of China’s rights to Japan: and here it got out of hand, rushed the police guard and surged through the building. Tsao Ju Lin was himself at home and escaped from the crowd but Chang Chung-hsiang, late Chinese Minister in Tokyo and signatory there of the Railway Agreement of September 28^th 1918, was not as fortunate: he was seized upon by the students and so severely handled that his recovery was at one moment thought improbable. Tsao and his family had in the meanwhile taken refuge in the Legation Quarter, at one moment in the Japanese Legation, from which he later removed to other quarters still unknown to the public though I have reason to believe that he is the guest of Tuan-chi-k’uei, ex-Minister of War. The other person present at the house during the emeute [riot] was a Japanese, and I hear that this was General Banzai, Military Adviser to the President. From the above it will be gathered that there was a distinct Japanese atmosphere about Tsao’s entourage which probably did not mollify the hostility of the crowd towards him. Eventually Tsao’s house was fired and burnt to the ground.