Page 100 - Three Score Years & Ten
P. 100
“THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN” MISSIONARY WORK IN CHINA
Amy Moore
On 19 January 1934 GFA joined Butterfield & Swire, Mr. Scotts firm, which had extensive import,
export and shipping interests. For the next seven years he was their political liaison officer and Chief
of the Department of Chinese Affairs. I remember him telling us at the time, of his horror when he
joined the firm, at the way in which Chinese clients were treated by the European officials in the firm.
Knowing and understanding so well all the rules of courtesy and politeness in the Chinese culture, he
promptly set to work to remedy matters. He bought Chinese table and chairs for the reception room
so that his Chinese guests could be properly seated. He arranged for tea to be brought to them so
that they could settle down to the lengthy business of polite small talk before the main business for
which the client was really there was ever broached at all. All this made a tremendous difference to
Butterfield & Swire’s position in the Chinese business world, and they were not slow to recognise the
benefits they were deriving from having GFA on their pay roll.
He not only had responsibility for an army of stevedores employed by the company in Shanghai, and
for negotiations with the Labour Unions, but he also kept in close contact with the National
Government, especially with TV Soong. The rich financial rewards of business life were attractive to
him at that time as he was anxious to provide more adequately for his children. Leslie returned to
Shanghai and lived with his parents in the International Settlement. Aileen and Mervyn were still in
Toronto, but in 1936 Aileen too joined them in Shanghai.
Mr. Tom Lindsay, who was also on the staff of Butterfield & Swire, writes about that period:
“In the early thirties the Firm was making a very definite attempt to present itself to the
Chinese as being ‘of’ China and not just a foreign entity ‘in’ China, and so was trying
to make itself conform as far as reasonable with Chinese customs and etiquette. At
one level this involved making sure that the Chinese names used by foreigners were
neither absurd or obscene and would not give rise to laughter when presented to a
Chinese. GFA vetted these names but, with his nice sense of humour, he liked a leg
to pull. A Mr. Bell wanted his Chinese name and GFA immediately said, ‘Easy’,
Ting Ah Ling’, which could be a perfectly good Chinese name.
At the other extreme to name giving was correspondence with Ministries in the
Chinese Government. The official treaty method was for the foreigner to
communicate with a Chinese official through the foreigner’s consul. China however,
was feeling that it was outgrowing the restrictions of the unequal treaties and use of
the old consular method was liable to be met with perhaps some prejudice on the
Chinese side. It was felt therefore, that direct communication might meet with better
results. GFA with his long experience as a Chinese official in famine relief etc., knew
how correspondence should be conducted. He engaged a writer who knew official
forms and then for a time the Firm had the benefit of the advice of Mr. TK Ceng who
had been high in government circles and shortly left to become a Vice-Minister of
Railways and later Consul-General at Rangoon, looking after the Burma Road
shipments.
GFA carried out most of the negotiations with the Seamen’s Union. This was a
government sponsored organisation. Its aim was as much to assist Chinese shipping
companies by causing trouble for foreign companies as it was to advance the
interests of Chinese seamen. In the event, I think the Union found that British
shipping companies and especially Swires, were the best people to deal with. For
day to day contact the Union’s representative, Yang, would bring in representatives of
whatever section of the Union had a complaint such as firemen, teaboys or the
Return toTable of 100
Contents
Amy Moore
On 19 January 1934 GFA joined Butterfield & Swire, Mr. Scotts firm, which had extensive import,
export and shipping interests. For the next seven years he was their political liaison officer and Chief
of the Department of Chinese Affairs. I remember him telling us at the time, of his horror when he
joined the firm, at the way in which Chinese clients were treated by the European officials in the firm.
Knowing and understanding so well all the rules of courtesy and politeness in the Chinese culture, he
promptly set to work to remedy matters. He bought Chinese table and chairs for the reception room
so that his Chinese guests could be properly seated. He arranged for tea to be brought to them so
that they could settle down to the lengthy business of polite small talk before the main business for
which the client was really there was ever broached at all. All this made a tremendous difference to
Butterfield & Swire’s position in the Chinese business world, and they were not slow to recognise the
benefits they were deriving from having GFA on their pay roll.
He not only had responsibility for an army of stevedores employed by the company in Shanghai, and
for negotiations with the Labour Unions, but he also kept in close contact with the National
Government, especially with TV Soong. The rich financial rewards of business life were attractive to
him at that time as he was anxious to provide more adequately for his children. Leslie returned to
Shanghai and lived with his parents in the International Settlement. Aileen and Mervyn were still in
Toronto, but in 1936 Aileen too joined them in Shanghai.
Mr. Tom Lindsay, who was also on the staff of Butterfield & Swire, writes about that period:
“In the early thirties the Firm was making a very definite attempt to present itself to the
Chinese as being ‘of’ China and not just a foreign entity ‘in’ China, and so was trying
to make itself conform as far as reasonable with Chinese customs and etiquette. At
one level this involved making sure that the Chinese names used by foreigners were
neither absurd or obscene and would not give rise to laughter when presented to a
Chinese. GFA vetted these names but, with his nice sense of humour, he liked a leg
to pull. A Mr. Bell wanted his Chinese name and GFA immediately said, ‘Easy’,
Ting Ah Ling’, which could be a perfectly good Chinese name.
At the other extreme to name giving was correspondence with Ministries in the
Chinese Government. The official treaty method was for the foreigner to
communicate with a Chinese official through the foreigner’s consul. China however,
was feeling that it was outgrowing the restrictions of the unequal treaties and use of
the old consular method was liable to be met with perhaps some prejudice on the
Chinese side. It was felt therefore, that direct communication might meet with better
results. GFA with his long experience as a Chinese official in famine relief etc., knew
how correspondence should be conducted. He engaged a writer who knew official
forms and then for a time the Firm had the benefit of the advice of Mr. TK Ceng who
had been high in government circles and shortly left to become a Vice-Minister of
Railways and later Consul-General at Rangoon, looking after the Burma Road
shipments.
GFA carried out most of the negotiations with the Seamen’s Union. This was a
government sponsored organisation. Its aim was as much to assist Chinese shipping
companies by causing trouble for foreign companies as it was to advance the
interests of Chinese seamen. In the event, I think the Union found that British
shipping companies and especially Swires, were the best people to deal with. For
day to day contact the Union’s representative, Yang, would bring in representatives of
whatever section of the Union had a complaint such as firemen, teaboys or the
Return toTable of 100
Contents
