Bui Quang Chiêu and the Constitutionalist Party in French Cochinchina, 1917-30

Author(s): R. B. Smith
Source: Modern Asian Studies , 1969, Vol. 3, No. 2 (1969), pp. 131-150
Published by: Cambridge University Press

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/311857

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Modern Asian Studies, III, 2 (1969), pp. I3I-150

Bui Quang Chieu and the

Constitutionalist Party in

French Cochinchina, 1917-30

BY R. B. SMITH'

THE years I916-I7 were something of a turning-point in

ment of Vietnamese nationalism. In Cochinchina an abortive attack
on Saigon central prison in February I916 was followed by a gre
many arrests and the virtual destruction, for the time being, of t
network of secret societies which had grown up in many of the colony
provinces during the previous decade. Many members of such societie
were brought before special military tribunals (justified by the fa
that France was at war in Europe) and sentenced to death, exile, o
long terms of imprisonment. In Annam another abortive plot, probab
quite separate, was hatched at Hue in May 1916, involving the kid
napping of the boy-emperor Duy-Tan; but he was found by the Frenc
two years later, before a projected rising in the provinces of Quan
Nam and Quang-Ngai could get under way. The leader of the plo
Tran Cao Van, was executed along with three others, and the depos
emperor was exiled to the island of Reunion.2 These events in Cochin-
china and Annam brought to a halt, for a time at least, the activities
of secret nationalist groups which, drawing their initial inspiration fro
Japan, had been increasing in strength since about 1905. In Tongki
there were also secret associations, mostly acknowledging the leadersh
of Phan B6i Chau who was then in exile at Canton, and strongly
influenced by the revolutionary methods of Sun Yat-sen. But the
also, their last important operation for several years occurred in
September I917, when Luong Ngoc Quyen escaped from prison a
Thai-Nguyen and was able to control the town for a week, befor

1 Some of the research for this article was done during a visit to Saigon und
the auspices of the London-Cornell project for East and South East Asian Studi
financed jointly by the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Nuffield
Foundation.
2 G. Coulet, Les Sociiets Secretes en Terre d'Annam, Saigon, I926, analyses the events
in Cochinchina of 1913-16 in some detail; on the Hue plot, see Courrier Saigonnais,
17 May and 5 June 1916.

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 R. B. SMITH
I32

being
being driven
drivenout
outand
andcommitting
committing suicide.3
suicide.3
Phan
Phan
B6i Chau
B6i Chau
himself
himself
was was
arrested
arrested by
bythe
theChinese
Chinesethe
the
following
followingyear.
year.
It was
was in
inthese
thesecircumstances,
circumstances,with
with
thethe
French
French
enjoying
enjoying
firmer
firmer
control
control in
inIndochina
Indochinathan
thanthey
they
hadhad
ever
ever
donedone
before,
before,
that that
therethere
beganbegan
to
to emerge
emergein inSaigon
Saigona arather
rather
different
different
kind
kind
of political
of political
movement
movement
led led
by
by men
men who
whowere
wereprepared
prepared
to to
useuse
constitutional
constitutional
methods
methods
to tryto to
try to
force
force the
thecolonial
colonialgovernment
government to to
livelive
up up
to its
to own
its own
expressed
expressed
ideals.ideals.
It began
began with
withthe
thefoundation,
foundation,
in in
August
August
I917,
I917,
of aofFrench-language
a French-language
newspaper,
newspaper,La
LaTribune
TribuneIndigene.
Indigene.
TheThe
publication
publication
of newspapers,
of newspapers,
or any
or any
other
other literature,
literature,ininthe
the
Vietnamese
Vietnamese
language
language
was was
subject
subject
to severe
to severe
restrictions
restrictionsand
andconstant
constantcensorship,
censorship,
butbut
publications
publications
in French
in French
were were
permitted.
permitted.There
Therehadhadlong
longbeen
been
a number
a numberof daily
of daily
and and
weekly
weekly
news-news-
papers
papers serving
servingthe
theFrench
French community
community in Saigon,
in Saigon,
and and
one of
onethem
of them
at at
least
least was
wasquite
quiteoutspoken
outspoken in in
itsits
criticisms
criticismsof established
of establishedauthority:
authority:
namely
namely La LaCochinchine
Cochinchine Liberale,
Liberale, which
whichhadhadbeenbeen
founded
founded
in I9I5
in by
I9I5 by
Jules-Adrien
Jules-AdrienMarx.
Marx.But
Butbybynow nowthere
there
waswas
alsoalso
a growing
a growingnumber
number
of of
people
people in
inSaigon
Saigonwho,
who,although
although Vietnamese
Vietnamese by birth
by birth
and mother-
and mother-
tongue,
tongue, were
wereFrench
Frenchbyby education
education andandin some
in some
casescases
nationality.
nationality.
The
The small
smallminority
minoritywhowhohadhad French
Frenchcitizenship
citizenship
werewere
as free
as free
as anyas any
other
other citizen
citizenof
ofthat
thatcountry
country
to to
found
found
a French-language
a French-language
newspaper,
newspaper,
and
and it
it was
wasone
oneofofthem,
them,Nguyen
NguyenPhuPhu
Khai,
Khai,
whowho
founded
founded
La Tribune
La Tribune
Indigene.4
Indigene.4Khai,
Khai,a anative
native
ofof
Ba-Ria
Ba-Ria
province,
province,
had had
beenbeen
educated
educated
in in
France
France as
asaaprotege
protegeofofPierre
Pierre
Loti,
Loti,
butbut
on on
his his
return
return
homehome
had decided
had decided
against
against taking
takinga aplace
placeinin
the
theFrench
Frenchcolonial
colonial
service.
service.
He argued
He argued
that that
his
his countrymen
countrymenhad hadfor
fortoo
too
long
long
beeen
beeen
obsessed
obsessed
withwith
the idea
the of
idea of
fonction,
fonction,whether
whetherininthe
the
oldold
mandarinate
mandarinate
or in
orthe
in the
service
service
of the
ofFrench,
the French,
with
with the
theresult
resultthat
thatthey
they
had
had
come
come
to be
to exploited
be exploited
economically
economically
by by
the
the Chinese
Chinesejust
justasasfirmly
firmly
as as
they
they
were
were
ruled
ruled
politically
politically
by the
byFrench.
the French.
If
If the
the country
countrywas
wasever
ever
toto
make
make
anyany
progress,
progress,
its first
its first
need need
was not
was not
for
for political
politicalindependence,
independence,but
but
forfor
economic
economic
modernization,
modernization,
whichwhich
meant
meant that
thatVietnamese
Vietnamese
would
wouldhave
haveto go
to in
go for
in for
other
other
occupations
occupations
besides
besides government
governmentservice.
service.It It
waswas
in this
in this
spirit
spirit
thatthat
Nguyen
Nguyen
Phu Khai
Phu Khai
had
had himself
himselfhelped
helpedtotoestablish
establish thethe
first
first
Vietnamese-owned
Vietnamese-owned
rice mill
rice mill
at
at My-Tho
My-Thoin in1915,
1915,totocompete
compete with
with
thethe
Chinese.5
Chinese.5
His
His views
viewswere
wereshared
sharedbyby another
another Cochinchinese
Cochinchinese whowho
was probably
was probably
the
the prime
primemover
moverbehind
behind the
thefoundation
foundationof the
of the
newspaper
newspaper
and the
andreal
the real

3 Le
Le Thanh
ThanhKh6i,
Kh6i,LeLeViet-Nam,
Viet-Nam,Histoire
Histoire
et Civilisation,
et Civilisation,
Paris,
Paris,
1955,1955,
p. 390.p. 390.
4 M.
M. Khai
Khaistill
stilllives
livesinin
Saigon
Saigon
andand
I was
I was
fortunate
fortunate
enough
enough
to meet
to meet
him there
him there
in in
September
SeptemberI967;
I967;my myinformation
information about
about
his his
career
career
is based
is based
partly
partly
on our onconversa-
our conversa-
tion then.
5 La Cochinchine Liberale, 6 July 19 5; the editor was strongly in favour of the move.

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BUI QUANG CHIEU AND THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PARTY 133

leader of the group which supported it. This was Bui Quang
(I873-I945), the second son of Bui Quang Dai, a native of Mo-
in the delta province of Ben-Tre whose family had a strong tradi
both of Confucian scholarship and of opposition to the Fren
Chieu himself went to a French school and, despite some relu
on his father's part, he jumped at the opportunity to go and
abroad. He went first to Algiers, where his protector was the ex-em
Ham-Nghi whom the French had exiled thither in I888; and
on to France itself. Returning home in 1897, he entered the s
of the Government-General of Indochina on the eve of Paul Doumer's
reforms, and not long afterwards was assigned to the Service Agricole.
Having specialized in agricultural engineering, and particularly in the
study of sericulture, he was in a position to rise much higher in the
colonial service than the clerks and interpreters who made up the bulk
of the native membership of the service. By I9I3 he was addressing
the Soci6te des Etudes Indochinoises as an expert on the subject of silk.7
Since he was employed by the Government-General and not by the
Government of Cochinchina he was posted in various parts of the
Union, and in the early years of the present century he was at Hue.
He may well have met there his famous near-contemporaries, Phan B6i
Chau (I867-I940) and Phan Chau Trinh (I872-I926), who in I904
were among the founders of the Duy-Tdn Hdi ('Reformation Associa-
tion'). Chieu, however, was separated from such men by a wide
educational gulf, for whereas he had been successful in the French
system of Cochinchina, they had received the Chinese education
necessary to prepare them for the mandarinal examinations of Annam.
It is most unlikely that Chieu participated in the Duy-Tdn movement,
but he was probably aware of its existence and of the attempts it was
making during the years 1905-8 to persuade young men to leave home
and study in Japan. His own view appears to have been that since
Vietnam could not hope to succeed in modernizing its economy and
society without outside aid, it might as well learn from the French
as from the Japanese. By I906 Chieu was working in Hanoi, and in
August of that year he was mentioned as first president of a SociteJ de
Secours Mutuel founded by Cochinchinese residents in Tongking.8 The
mutual help association is a characteristic Vietnamese organization,
6 I am indebted for much information about Bui Quang Chieu's life to his
daughters in Saigon, who were kind enough to spend several hours talking to me
about his career. In the account which follows, however, I have tried as far as
possible to document all events.
7 Courrier Saigonnais, 25 February 1913.
8 L'Avenir du Tonkin, 22 August I906. The society had IIo members.

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I34 R. B. SMITH

and
and indeed
indeedthe
thesecret
secretsocieties
societies
whose
whose
political
political
activities
activities
so much
so much
alarmed
alarmed thetheFrench
Frenchhad hadas as
one
oneof of
their
their
primary
primarypurposes
purposes
the object
the object
of
of enabling
enablingmembers
memberstoto lean
lean
upon
upononeone
another
anotherin time
in time
of need.
of need.
The The
French
French were
wereprepared
preparedtoto permit
permit associations
associations
which
which
had had
no political
no political
purpose,
purpose, andandBui
BuiQuang
Quang Chieu
Chieu diddid
much
muchto promote
to promote the development
the development
of
of legal
legal societies
societiesofofthis
this kind.
kind.
SomeSomeyears
years
later,
later,
backback
in Saigon,
in Saigon,
he he
played
played aa leading
leadingrole
roleinin
the
the
creation
creation
of of
an association
an association
of former
of former
pupilspupils
of
of the
the College
CollegeChasseloup-Laubat,
Chasseloup-Laubat,as well
as well
as in
as the
in the
expansion
expansion
of the
of the
Societe
Societe d'Enseignement
d'EnseignementMutuel
Mutuelwhich
which
hadhad
originally
originally
beenbeen
founded
founded
by the
by the
Frenchman
FrenchmanA.
A.Salles.
Salles.ByBy
1918
1918
he he
waswas
president
president
of both.9
of both.9
It was
It out
was out
of
of societies
societiesof
ofthis
thiskind
kindthat
that
thethe
Constitutionalist
Constitutionalist
Party
Party
was created.
was created.
From
From April
AprilI9I9
I9I9the
thefront
frontpage
page
of of
La La
Tribune
Tribune
Indigene
Indigene
borebore
the the
legend
legend 'organe
'organeduduParti
PartiConstitutionaliste',
Constitutionaliste',
butbut
the the
party
party
appears
appears
to to
have
have been
beenfounded
foundedatatthethe
same
same
time
time
as the
as the
newspaper,
newspaper,
withwith
ChieuChieu
as as
its
its effective
effectiveleader
leaderand
andwith
withprobably
probably only
only
a small
a small
group
group
of intimates
of intimates
as members.
members.Both
Bothits
itsobjects
objects
and
and
its its
methods
methods
are are
indicated
indicated
by its
byname.
its name.
It hoped
hoped to
toachieve,
achieve,through
through
thethe
action
action
of the
of the
French
French
themselves,
themselves,
reforms
reforms which
whichwould
wouldlead
lead
to to
thethe
modernization
modernizationof the
of country
the country
and aand a
greater
greater degree
degreeofofliberty
libertyfor
for
itsits
inhabitants.
inhabitants.
As early
As early
as 1908
as 1908
Phan Phan
Chau Chau
Trinh
Trinh had
hadappealed
appealedtotothe
theFrench
FrenchGovernor-General
Governor-Generalto treat
to treat
the the
people
people more
morefavourably
favourably if if
hehe
wished
wished
forfor
their
their
support;
support;
but he
butdid
hesodid so
in
in very
very general
generalterms,
terms, apart
apart
from
froma plea
a plea
forfor
the the
reduction
reduction
of taxes.10
of taxes.10
The
The Constitutionalists
Constitutionalistsonon
the
the
other
otherhand
hand
were
were
interested
interested
in obtaining
in obtaining
specific
specific reforms,
reforms,and
andthe
the
columns
columns
of of
their
their
newspaper
newspaper
werewere
full of
full of
discussions about what those reforms should be. No normal manifesto
of the Party's aims survived from this early period, but they were
probably much the same as those expressed by Diep Van Cuong in
a speech of September I9I7 before the Conseil Colonial de la Cochinchine
of which he was one of the six native members."1
Diep Van Cuong (1876-1918) was born in Bac-Lieu province but
had settled at Ben-Tre and must have been an acquaintance of
Bui Quang Chieu if not actually a member of his party; he might
have become more prominent in the movement had he not died in
January i9I8.12 In this speech he set forth six specific demands for
reform: first, the transformation of the traditional xa (the local 'com-
9 La Tribune IndigEne, 25 April and 27 June I918.
10 Part of the letter is printed in Duong Dinh Khue, Les Chefs d'Oeuvre de la
Litterature Vietnamienne, Saigon, 1966, pp. 35I-3.
1 La Tribune Indigene, 24 September I917.
12 La Tribune Indigene, 21 and 28 January 1918. A former government official,
he sat on the Conseil Colonial from 1904, and is to be distinguished from his namesake
referred to below.

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BUI QUANG CHIEU AND THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PARTY 135

mune') into proper municipalities with elected councils; secon

abolition of what remained of the traditional mandarin sys
Cochinchina and its replacement by a more modern administ
hierarchy; third, a reduction in the number of minor Vietn
functionaries, and substantial increases of salary for the rest; fo
the appointment in every canton of a juge de paix independent o
executive power; fifth, a reform of the naturalization law to ma
easier for Vietnamese to become French citizens; and sixth, the e
sion of native representation in the Conseil Colonial to give a
number of French and Vietnamese representatives, with the
elected on a much wider franchise.
The Constitutionalists' hopes were raised by the fact that in I917
the new Governor-General of Indochina was Albert Sarraut, whose
public statements suggested that he might be willing to apply in
earnest the colonial philosophy of 'association', and to interpret it in
a sense which would mean genuine progress for the colony. In some
respects what Bui Quang Chieu and Diep Van Cuong wanted was
assimilation rather than association: the introduction that is, of more
rather then less French-style modernity. But they also wanted French-
style constitutional progress, and in the circumstances of 19I7 there
was more chance of achieving that from associationist politicians than
from assimilationist administrators. As it turned out, Sarraut was
more interested in educational reforms than in administrative or
political changes, and devoted most of his energies towards achievi
for Tongking and Annam the kind of French education that alrea
existed in Cochinchina; in the process he abolished the tradition
examinations, and established a university at Hanoi.l3 The Constit
tionalists, therefore, although they themselves were not uninterested
in education, still had not achieved any of Cuong's aims by the tim
Sarraut's term as Governor came to an end in 19I9.
About the middle of 1919 they returned to a theme which had long
been dear to the heart of Nguyen Phu Khai, namely the Chinese
domination of Cochinchina's economy. On 28 August La Tribu
Indigene published an announcement that there was to be a boyco
of the Chinese, and two days later a Societe Commerciale Annamite w
founded, with Khai as president.l4 Its vice-presidents were Nguye
Chanh Sat, editor of the Vietnamese-language Ndng Cd Min Dam
weekly journal which ran from I9oI until 1924), and Tran Quang
Nghiem, a small businessman; it held its first meeting at the premise
13 Khoi, op. cit., p. 403.
14 La Tribune Indighne, 28 August and 4 September 19I9.

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I36 R. B. SMITH

of
of the
theSociete
Societe
d'Enseignement
d'Enseignement
Mutuel.Mutuel.
In October
In there
October
followed
there
thefollowed t
creation
creation ofofa Banque
a Banque
Annamite,
Annamite,
and early
andin early
November
in November
the boycotters
the boycotters
organized
organized a Congres
a Congres
AEconomique
AEconomique
de la Cochinchine
de la Cochinchine
attended byattended
repre- by repre
sentatives
sentatives from
fromsixteen
sixteen
of theof
colony's
the colony's
twenty provinces.l5
twenty provinces.l5
However, However,
congresses
congresses proved
proved
easier
easier
to organize
to organize
than mass
than
economic
mass action,
economic
and action, an
the
theChinese
Chinese hadhad
too too
firmfirm
a gripaongrip
the rice
on the
traderice
to betrade
seriously
to be
dis-seriously dis-
turbed
turbedbyby anything
anything
less. less.
By mid-1920
By mid-1920
the boycott
thehad
boycott
died away,
hadand
died away, and
apart
apartfrom
from drawing
drawinginto into
commercial
commercial
activity activity
a few more a Vietnamese
few more Vietnam
than
thanthere
therehadhad
beenbeen
before,
before,
it achieved
it achieved
little economic
little change.
economic Never-
change. Never
theless
thelessit it
proved
proved
thatthat
the French-educated
the French-educated elite of Cochinchina
elite of Cochinchina
were we
capable
capableofoforganizing
organizing
themselves,
themselves,
and they and
gained
theyfrom
gained
it experience
from it experience
which
whichwas wasto to
prove
prove
valuable
valuable
later. later.
A second venture of the Constitutionalists about the same time was
their campaign on behalf of one of the candidates in the election for
the depute de la Cochinchine which took place on I December I9I9.
Being a colony, Cochinchina was represented in the French National
Assembly, but only French citizens were entitled to vote. The two
principal candidates were Ernest Outrey, formerly a high-ranking
official in the colony, and Paul Monin, a liberally inclined lawyer who
had lived in Saigon for many years; the Constitutionalists supported
Monin, but he got only 396 votes against 1,486 for Outrey. Even the
Vietnamese elite of Saigon was by no means united behind Monin:
Outrey had the support of a group calling itself the Socite' des Annamites
Citoyens Franfais, led by (another) Diep Van Cuong, who was later
to come in for strong condemnation by the Constitutionalists.l6
It was clear that some French-educated Vietnamese would never
stand out against the conservative French colons, even within th
limits allowed by the law. The Constitutionalists themselves were late
regarded by more extreme groups as being pro-French, but they wer
not sufficiently docile for the liking of Outrey. Moreover, betwe
1917 and 1924 they were virtually the only organized political gro
in Cochinchina, at a time when opposition of any more extreme ki
would have been rigorously suppressed. During those years they were
able to increase their following within the Vietnamese community. In
I920 another French-language newspaper was founded in Saigon b
Vietnamese. This was L'Echo Annamite, whose effective founder w
Nguyen Phan Long, although he did not become editor until two
years later. His connexion with Bui Quang Chieu before this time
not clear, but already in 1919 he had demonstrated his sympathy for
15 La Tribune Indigene, 7 October and 4 November I919.
16 La Tribune Indig;ne, I8, 27 November and 2 December I9I9.

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BUI QUANG CHIEU AND THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PARTY 137

La Tribune Indigene by contributing to it a serialized story en

Le Roman de Mademoiselle Lys, into which he incorporated his refle
on the problems both of individuals and of the colony whose c
was partly French and partly Vietnamese.17 Another event of
may be noticed in passing: the creation in Paris, in November of
year, of an Association Mutuelle des Indochinois. One of the founde
Nguyen Phu Khai, who seems to have been in France from 1
1923; others included the physician Dr Le Quang Trinh, an
lawyer Duong Van Giao.l8 At this date there were far more Vietn
willing to support an organization of this kind than were prepare
follow Nguyen Ai Quoc (that is, Ho Chi Minh) into the Fr
Communist Party which he helped to found at Tours the foll
month.
About the middle of 1921 La Tribune Indigene began a new camp
for the reform of the Conseil Colonial and the extension of Vietnamese
representation. By this time Sarraut had been succeeded as Governor-
General by another 'associationist', Maurice Long, who held the
position from 1920 till his death in 1922. It was no doubt owing to
his liberal attitude that the campaign for reform met with some
success, in the shape of the decree of 9 June 1922, which increased
native representation on the Conseil from six to ten, and expanded
the Vietnamese electorate from about 1,500 to over 20,ooo.19 At that
time, however, the effective French membership was increased to
fourteen so that they still held a majority; and 20,000 was not a large
electorate out of a population of over three millions. The first elections
under the new regulations were held in October and November 1922,
and the ten native members elected included a number of Constitu-
tionalists. Most prominent among them was Nguyen Phan Long, who
became Vice-President of the Conseil as well as the Party's chief spokes-
man there; he sat for the constituency which included Saigon.20
Another field in which Maurice Long was prepared to make changes
welcome to the Constitutionalists was education. Between the end of
1918 and the end of 1922 the number of primary schools in Cochinchina
was increased from 905 to 1,017, and a third secondary school, or
college, was created at Can-Tho.21 But the pace of development was
17 La Tribune Indig~ne, May 1919, passim.
18 La Tribune Indigene, 17, 24 February 1921; Le Quang Trinh was elected
president.
19 Rapport du Gouverneur de la Cochinchine, 4e trimestre 1922, National Archives,
Saigon: S.L. 366.
20 La Tribune Indigene, 17 October 1922.
21 Rapports, etc., as note 19 above; Ier trimestre I9I9 and 4c trimestre 1922.

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I38 R. B. SMITH

not
notmaintained,
maintained,and aand
few ayears
fewlater
years
we find
laterBui
we Quang
findChieu
Bui Quang C
pointing
pointing outout
thatthat
although
although
the number
the of
number
pupils inof
schools
pupilsin Cochin-
in schools in Coch
china
chinahadhadrisen
risenmoremore
than tenfold
than tenfold
between 1904
between
and 1924,
1904theand
total1924, the
of
of72,809
72,809 forfor
the the
latterlatter
year wasyear
not was
a verynot
large
a very
proportion
large ofproportion
the of
600,000
600,000 children
children of school
of school
age.22 The
age.22
Constitutionalists
The Constitutionalists
began there- began th
fore
foretoto found
found'free'free
schools'
schools'
under their
underowntheir
management.
own management.
In 1923 In
Nguyen
Nguyen Phan
PhanLongLongopenedopened
a pensionnat
a pensionnat
at Gia-Dinh,atand
Gia-Dinh,
about the and about
same
sametimetime BuiBui
QuangQuang
Chieu Chieu
foundedfounded
a similar school
a similar
known school
as the known as
An-nam
An-nam hoc-duong
hoc-duong
at Phu-Nhuan
at Phu-Nhuan
on the outskirts
on theofoutskirts
Saigon.23 But
of the
Saigon.23 But
French administrators were less than enthusiastic about all this educa-
tional expansion, and in September I924 a decree severely restricted
the creation of private schools. Nevertheless Bui Quang Chieu's school
still existed in 1927, when Ta Thu Thau, subsequently leader of the
Trotskyist Communists in Cochinchina, was a teacher there before his
departure for France.24
During the years I923-4, the political temperature in Saigon began
to rise as the Constitutionalists found themselves increasingly alienated
from the French conservatives who at that time controlled the
Cochinchina government. Maurice Long's successor as Gover
General was the more cautious Merlin (against whom there wa
attempt at assassination when he visited Canton in June I924)
the new Lieutenant-Governor of Cochinchina, Maurice Cognac
who was appointed in February I922, was a conservative with
experience in Cochinchina. The first major clash between Cog
and the Constitutionalists came in November 1923, when Ngu
Phan Long spoke out in the Conseil Colonial against proposals for a
Saigon port convention which would make it a virtual monopol
French hands. He spoke eloquently but was unable to prevent
passage through the Conseil by a majority of fourteen votes to sev
During December and January the Constitutionalists carried
campaign of meetings and speeches to try to obtain a reversal o
decision, and for the first time something like public opinion
22 Georges Garros, Forceries Humaines, l'Indochine litigieuse, esquisse d'une en
Franco-Annamite, Paris, I926, Documents annexes.
23 La Tribune Indigene, September I923.
24 La Tribune Indochinoise, 31 August and 7 September 1927.
25 Walter G. Langlois, Andre Malraux, the Indochina Adventure, London,
PP. 93-5, etc.
26 La Tribune Indigene, 13, 20 November and I December 1923; cf. also 22 Jan
1924. I. M. Sacks says that the opposition to the convention was successful,
find no record of it being withdrawn; his source on this is the newspaper La
for I November i934, ten years after the event; F. N. Trager (ed.), Marxis
Southeast Asia, Stanford, 1960, p. I 3.

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BUI QUANG CHIEU AND THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PARTY 139

aroused in Saigon. A Vietnamese-language periodical, Nam-ky Ki

Bao ('EconomicJournal of Cochinchina') was closed down early in
for ignoring the censorship on this issue.27 The government ar
that it was a political matter, whereas the Constitutionalists cla
that it was purely an economic question; but there was no dou
which side was the stronger, and the government won the
Much of the bitterness of the opponents of the port convention stem
from the fact that in the Conseil Colonial some of the native r
sentatives had voted for it, notably Dr Le Quang Trinh, who had b
given Constitutionalist support in the election of I922. He was shar
attacked in the columns of La Tribune Indigene, and in March
he replied in kind by founding a newspaper of his own, Le Pro
Annamite. The conflict ended in litigation, and Le Quang Trinh
fined in the Tribune Correctionnel for defamation.28
Le Progres Annamite was Saigon's fourth French-language newspa
run by and for Vietnamese. A third had been founded in Decem
I923 by Nguyen An Ninh and Phan Van Truong: La Cloche Fel
Like Bui Quang Chieu and Nguyen Phu Khai, Nguyen An N
(I900-43) had been educated in France and had absorbed French
political ideals.29 But he belonged to a new generation and was much
more impatient than the older men. To begin with, he espoused their
aims of constitutional progress, but already by I925 he was writing
of the possibility that if those aims could not be achieved quickly by
peaceful means, it might be necessary to resort to violence.30 The
Constitutionalists found themselves in I924 steering a middle course
between those of their countrymen who followed the lead of Diep Van
Cuong and Le Quang Trinh in supporting the conservative colons,
and those who were beginning to think of violence. Their philosophy
is summed up in the words of an article that had appeared in La
Tribune Indigeze in mid-I 923:31

II y a deux faqons de conquerir la liberte: par le canon ou par la

culture; nous sommes pour la culture.

In terms of French politics, Bui Quang Chieu appears to have been

a member of the Parti Radicale et Radicale-Socialiste of which a branch

27 Nguyen An Ninh, La France en Indochine, Paris, 1925, p. 17.

28 La Tribune Indigene, 11-13 December 1923; I8 March I924.
29 For an account of his early career, see L'Avenir du Tonkin, 5 May I926. Ninh
appears to have been in France in 921 -3, but it is doubtful whether he left with a
qualification.
30 In the tract cited in note 27 above.
31 La Tribune Indigene, 26 June I923.

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 R. B. SMITH
I40

was
was formed
formedatat
Saigon
Saigon
in August
in August
I924.I924.
This This
was not
wassufficiently
not sufficiently
far far
left
left for
forNguyen
NguyenAnAn
Ninh,
Ninh,
whowho
laterlater
became
became
a Communist,
a Communist,
but it was
but it was
too
too much
muchforforOutrey.
Outrey.It was
It was
probably
probably
the latter's
the latter's
doing doing
that at that
the at the
beginning
beginningofofJanuary
January I925
I925
Chieu
Chieu
was was
transferred
transferred
to a post
to ainpost
Cam-in Cam-
bodia;
bodia;hehewas
wasevidently
evidently a disruptive
a disruptive
influence
influence
in Saigon
in Saigon
and better
and better
out
out of
ofthe
theway.32
way.32In In
February,
February,
La Tribune
La Tribune
Indigene
Indigene
was closed
was down.
closed down.
In
In the
themeantime,
meantime,in in
Paris,
Paris,
Duong
Duong
Van Van
Gaio Gaio
and a and
sympathetic
a sympathetic
Frenchman
FrenchmanGeorges
GeorgesGrandjean
Grandjean
formed
formed
a Groupe
a Groupe
Constitutionaliste
Constitutionaliste
and and
persuaded
persuadedPhan
Phan Chau
ChauTrinh
Trinh
to become
to become
its president.
its president.
It played
It played
some some
part
part in
inthe
themoves
moveswhich
whichled led
the the
French
French
government
government
to allowtoTrinh
allow Trinh
to
to return
returntotoSaigon
Saigon
(though
(thoughnot not
to his
to native
his native
Annam)Annam)
later inlater
I925.33
in I925.33
During
Duringmost
mostofof I924
I924
thethe
Constitutionalists
Constitutionalists
had nohad
official
no official
organ, organ,
although
althoughNguyen
Nguyen Phan
PhanLong's
Long's
EchoEcho
Annamite
Annamite
continued
continued
publication.
publication.
For
For aa few
fewmonths
monthsin in
thethe
summer,
summer,
and again
and again
in theinwinter
the winter
of that of
year,
that year,
however,
however,another
anothernewspaper
newspaper
carried
carried
on a on
series
a series
of attacks
of attacks
against against
Cognacq's
Cognacq'spolicies
policiesand
and
general
general
corruption:
corruption:
the Indochine
the Indochine
of Paulof
Monin
Paul Monin
and
and Andr6
Andr6Malraux.34
Malraux.34 Between
Between mid-June
mid-Juneand mid-August
and mid-August I925 it I925 it
opposed
opposedthe theGovernor
Governor so vigorously
so vigorously that that
he hadheithadclosed
it closed
down by down by
intimidating
intimidatingevery every printer
printer in Saigon.
in Saigon.
It reappeared
It reappeared
in November,
in November,
as as
L'Indochine
L'IndochineEnchaine,
Enchaine, usingusing
typetype
smuggled
smuggled
in fromin from
Hong Kong,
Hong and
Kong, and
ran
ran for
foranother
another couple
couple of of
months.
months. Malraux
Malraux
himself
himself
went to went
Hongto Hong
Kong
Kong at atthis
thistime,
time, andandalsoalso
paidpaid
a brief
a brief
visit visit
to Canton.
to Canton.
Both places
Both places
were
were ininthe
thegrip
gripofofthethestrike
strike
movement
movement whichwhich
inaugurated
inaugurated
China's China's
second
secondrevolution,
revolution, andandit is
itagainst
is against
the background
the backgroundof theseofevents
these events
that
that one
onemust
must seesee
thethe
growing
growing concern
concern
of Cognacq
of Cognacq
and hisand
friends
his friends
about
aboutopposition
opposition movements
movements in Cochinchina.
in Cochinchina. It is not
It is
certain
not certain
at at
precisely
preciselywhatwhat stage
stagetheytheybecame
becameaware aware
that in
that
Junein I925
June theI925
Com-
the Com-
intern
internagentagentNguyen
Nguyen Ai AiQuocQuoc
founded
foundedhis Vietnam
his Vietnam
Revolutionary
Revolutionary
Youth Association at Canton.
It was beginning to look as though the government of Cochinchina
would tolerate no opposition of any kind, and make no serious reforms
either, when in July I925 the new government in Paris appointed as
Governor-General of Indochina the socialist Alexandre Varenne. There
was hope once again that the demands of the Constitutionalists might
be met, and it was not wholly destroyed by the public interview
between the newly arrived Governor-General and Nguyen Phan Long
in November when Varenne made it clear that it would be impossible

32 La Tribune IndigMne, 3 January I925.

33 La Tribune Indigene, 31 January I925.
34 The story of this newspaper, and of Malraux's other activities in Indochina,
has been told by W. G. Langlois in the work cited above, note 25.

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BUI QUANG CHIEU AND THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PARTY I41

to grant full civil liberties immediately.35 His first real test

affair of Phan B6i Chau, who had recently been sentenced to
labour for life following his arrest in Shanghai in June. Ther
public outcry, alike in Paris, in Saigon and in Hanoi; and in due c
Varenne reached his decision that the veteran nationalist should be
released, but allowed to live only at Hue and not to travel either
within the country or abroad.36 About the end of the year Bui Quang
Chieu decided to go to Paris himself, and to join forces with Duon
Van Giao in a bid to convince the government in Paris of the desir
ability of reforms.
Their aspirations are recorded in an article they contributed in 1926
to the Belgian review, L'Essor Colonial et Maritime.37 They were six in
number: first, basic civil liberties, including freedom to write withou
censorship in Vietnamese, freedom of assembly and association, an
freedom to travel without special permission; second, expansion of the
educational system, to give the Vietnamese proper opportunities o
higher education; third, an increase in the number of native officials,
with responsibilities and remuneration appropriate to their education;
fourth, proper representation of Vietnamese, both in Indochina itself
and in the National Assembly, and the creation in Paris of a new
Commission d'1Etudes Indochinoises to advise the government, with electe
representatives from the colony; fifth, reform of the judicial system,
and the application to Indochina of social and labour legislation
current in Metropolitan France; and sixth, the suppression of th
monopolies of alcohol and opium. Such demands made an impact on
some Frenchmen, such as Georges Garros whose book Les Forceries
Humaines appeared the same year, and young radicals like Andre
Malraux. But they made very little impact on the government, an
Chieu returned to Saigon in March 1926 empty handed.
He was greeted on the quay by a demonstration of French colons
opposed to his ideas, but a few days later there was a counter-
demonstration in his support by members of the movement of younger
men that had come to be known as Jeune Annam. Not long afterwards
the death occurred of Phan Chau Trinh, and his funeral on Easter
Sunday was made the occasion for a demonstration by 25,ooo people
in procession and a strike by the coolies of the rice-mills in Cho-Lon.
Pupils in a number of schools wore black mourning-bands, and when

35 Langlois, op. cit., p. 178.

36 For a report of the trial see L'Avenir du Tonkin, 23-25 November I925; all later
sources say that Chau was sentenced to death, but this was not so.
37 And reprinted by G. Garros, op. cit., note 22 above.

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142 R. B. SMITH

this
this was
wasprohibited
prohibited andand
thethe
prohibition
prohibition
was was
ignored,
ignored,
a number
a number
of of
boys
boys were
wereexpelled;
expelled;
at at
My-Tho
My-Thothere
there
was was
a clash
a clash
between
between
the pupils
the pupils
of
of the
the college
collegeand
andthe
thelocal
local
militia.38
militia.38
TwoTwo
members
members
of Jeune
of Jeune
AnnamAnnam
were
were arrested
arrestedand
andgiven
givenprison
prison
sentences
sentences
in a in
Saigon
a Saigon
court court
on 23 on 23
April:
April: Nguyen
NguyenAn
AnNinh
Ninh
gotgot
twotwo
years
years
for for
prophesying
prophesying
a violent
a violent
struggle
struggle
against
againstthe
theFrench,
French,and
and
Lam
Lam
Hiep
Hiep
Chau
Chau
one year
one year
for publishing
for publishing
sedition
seditionin
inthe
thesole
sole
issue
issue
of of
a new
a new
newspaper,
newspaper,
itselfitself
also called
also called
Jeune Jeune
Annam.39
Annam.39The
Theconservative
conservative
colons
colons
went
went
further,
further,
and took
and steps
took to
steps
try to try
to
to remove
removeVarenne
Varennefrom
from
hishis
Governorship.
Governorship.
On 27
OnMay,
27 May,
Outrey
Outrey
introduced
introduceda amotion
motionofof
censure
censure
against
against
him him
in the
inChamber
the Chamber
of Deputies.
of Deputies.
Varenne
Varennewas
wasdefended
defendedbyby
thethe
Minister
Minister
of Colonies
of Colonies
and the
andmotion
the motion
was
was rejected,
rejected,but
butthe
the
fact
fact
that
that
he was
he was
nownow
at loggerheads
at loggerheads
with many
with many
of
of his
his administrators
administratorsmeant
meant
that
that
he had
he had
littlelittle
opportunity
opportunity
of making
of making
major
major reforms.
reforms.
In
In August
August1926
1926the
the
Constitutionalists
Constitutionalists
refounded
refounded
theirtheir
newspaper,
newspaper,
under
under the
thename
nameLaLa Tribune
Tribune
Indochinoise,
Indochinoise,
and aand
newa period
new period
of vigorous
of vigorous
activity
activitybegan.
began.BuiBui
Quang
Quang
Chieu
Chieu
waswas
nownow
formally
formally
the director
the director
of the of the
paper,
paper, and
andits
itsadministration
administrationwaswas
in the
in the
handshands
of Nguyen
of Nguyen
Kim Dinh,
Kim Dinh,
who
who also
alsoran
rana aVietnamese-language
Vietnamese-languagenewspaper
newspaper
Dong-Phap
Dong-Phap
Thoi Bao
Thoi Bao
from
from 1923
1923toto1929.
1929.
(A(A
notnot
unimportant
unimportant
result
result
of allof
the
allnewspaper
the newspaper
activity
activityfrom
from1917
1917was
wasthethe
creation
creation
in Saigon
in Saigon
of a body
of a body
of men
ofwith
men with
considerable
considerablejournalistic
journalistic
experience.)
experience.)
An item
An item
in the
insecond
the second
number
number
of
of the
the new
neworgan
organgives
gives
some
some
indication
indication
of the
of state
the state
of Saigon
of Saigon
politicspolitics
at
at this
thistime.
time.At
Ata recent
a recent
meeting
meeting
of the
of the
Conseil
Conseil
Colonial
Colonial
a French
a French
liberal liberal
called
called Gallet
Gallethad
hadintroduced
introduced a motion
a motion
for for
a 'rapprochement
a 'rapprochement
Franco-
Franco-
Annamite',
Annamite',which
which Nguyen
Nguyen Phan
Phan
Long
Long
and and
the Constitutionalists
the Constitutionalists
had had
supported.
supported.But Butfive
five
ofofthethe
Vietnamese
Vietnamese
members
members joinedjoined
most of
most
the;of the;
French
Frenchin inopposing
opposing it it
andand
it was
it was
thrown
thrown
out. out.
It mayIt may
well have
wellbeen
have been
this vote which determined the Constitutionalists to win control of all
native seats in the Conseil, and that is what they achieved in the elections
of October I926: all ten Constitutionalist candidates were returned,
and Bui Quang Chieu joined Nguyen Phan Long as a member.40 This
was to be the high-point of the party's success.
So far we have been concerned almost exclusively with political
developments in Cochinchina, where the laws permitting some degree
of opposition to the government in a French-language press were far
more liberal than was the case in the protectorates of Annam and
Tongking. In these latter regions the French-educated elite was much

38 Report of the British Consul in Saigon, F. G. Gorton, April 1926.

39 L'Avenir du Tonkin, 5 May 1926.
40 La Tribune Indochinoise, o1 November I926.

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BUI QUANG CHIEU AND THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PARTY 143

smaller, and even its leading figures like Pham Quynh (1892
were more attached to the old Confucian tradition than their counter-
parts in the South. During the period 1917-26, while Bui Quang
Chieu and his friends were developing a more radical French-language
press in Saigon, Pham Quynh took the lead in promoting a periodical
literature in qu6c-ngu, the Romanized form of Vietnamese, within the
limitations of a censorship which virtually precluded any political
content. He did however also found a French-language newspaper,
France-Indochine, in 1922 and was interested in some of the things which
preoccupied the Cochinchinese Constitutionalists. In the summer of
1926 he proposed the formation of a legal political party in Tongking
and Annam which would co-operate with the French in promoting
the moral, economic and intellectual development of the community.
He won over Phan B6i Chau to this idea, but not Varenne, and legal
recognition was withheld. A new party was in fact founded at Tourane
(Da-Nang) in September 1926, the Parti Progressiste du Peuple Annamite,
but it did not meet Pham Quynh's approval and it was not long
before it was completely infiltrated by extremists.41 Bui Quang Chi6u
was apparently approached by the founders of this latter party, but
he refused to participate, possibly fearing that the extension to Annam
and Tongking of political movements begun in Cochinchina might
result in an extension to the latter of the very restrictive political and
press regulations of the protectorates. The Constitutionalist Party
therefore, although it now called itself 'Indochinese', continued to
limit its activities to the South. Some years later, in I933, Pham
Quynh participated in the attempt at a 'constitutional' government
at Hue under the new emperor Bao-Dai, but Ng6 Dinh Diem was
probably right in his opinion that the experiment would never lead
to real independence, constitutional or otherwise.42
In the years I927-28 there was inevitably some rivalry between the
Constitutionalists and the less moderate Jeune Annam group; however
it had not yet reached the point where the former dissociated them-
selves from the activities of the younger men. In March I927 La
Tribune Indochinoise criticized Nguyen An Ninh and Tran Huy Lieu
(later prominent in the Viet-Minh) for organizing a separate demon-
stration at the tomb of Phan Chau Trinh some days before the
anniversary of his death, and accused them of taking the hero's name

41 Gouvernement-General de l'Indochine, Contribution d l'Histoire des Mouvements

Politiques de l'Indochine Franfaise, I, Hanoi, 1933, p. 17. The new party was not given
legal recognition by the authorities.
42 Ph. Devillers, Histoire du Viet-Nam de I940 d I952, Paris, 1952, pp. 63-4.

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I44 R. B. SMITH

in
in vain.43
vain.43ButBut
thisthis
did not
didrepresent
not represent
a serious a
breach.
serious
By this
breach.
time By this ti
Ninh,
Ninh,whowhocannot
cannothave have
servedserved
his sentence
his sentence
of the previous
of theyear
previous
in full, year in f
was
wasorganizing
organizing a newa new
secretsecret
society society
in the Cochinchinese
in the Cochinchinese
countryside, countrysid
the
theHope
Hopeof of
Youth
Youth
Party,
Party,
which which
was virtually
was virtually
Communist Communist
both in its both in it
aims
aimsand
anditsits
techniques;
techniques;
if the if
Constitutionalists
the Constitutionalists
knew of it, knew
they did
of it, they di
nothing
nothing openly
openlyto reveal
to reveal
its activities
its activities
to the French
to the
Surete.44
FrenchIn April
Surete.44 In Ap
or
or May
May 1927,
1927,
Jeune
Jeune
Annam
Annam
issued an
issued
appealan
forappeal
Frenchfor
withdrawal
French withdra
from
fromthe
the
colony,
colony,
to beto
followed
be followed
by the election
by theofelection
a Vietnamese
of aParlia-
Vietnamese Par
ment
mentand
and
full
full
independence;
independence;
and amongst
and amongst
the names the
put forward
names put
for forward fo
membership
membership of aof
Commission
a Commission
d'evacuation
d'evacuation
was that ofwas
Bui that
QuangofChieu.
Bui Quang Ch
There
Thereis is
nothing
nothing
to suggest
to suggest
that hethat
or any
heofor
theany
others
of had
thegiven
others had giv
permission
permission forfor
their
their
namesnames
to be mentioned
to be mentioned
in this way,
inbut
this
when
way,
he but when
was
waschallenged
challengedby aby
conservative
a conservative
French newspaper
French newspaper
to state his to state
position,
position, Chieu
Chieu
refused
refused
to dissociate
to dissociate
himself entirely
himself from
entirely
the appeal;
from the appe
he
hesaid
saidmerely
merelythatthat
young
young
men were
men always
wereimpatient.45
always impatient.45
Again, in Again,
July
Julywhen
whenPhan
Phan
Van Van
Truong,
Truong,
directordirector
of the newspaper
of the L'Annam,
newspaper was L'Annam, w
charged
charged with
with
incitement
incitement
to revolt,
to revolt,
La Tribune
LaIndochinoise
Tribune Indochinoise
went to his went to
support.
support. The
Theaffair
affair
dragged
dragged
on untilon
March
until1928,
Marchwhen1928,
Truongwhen
was Truong
sentenced
sentenced to to
twotwo
years'
years'
imprisonment:
imprisonment:
immediately
immediately
Bui Quang Chieu
Bui Quang Ch
nominated
nominated him him
as a as
candidate
a candidate
in the election
in the for
election
the Depute
for de
thela Depute de l
Cochinchine
Cochinchine thethe
following
following
month,month,
and conducted
and conducted
a campaign on
a campaign
his on
behalf,
behalf, which
whichwonwon
him 175
himvotes
175despite
votes his
despite
sentence.46
his sentence.46
(Outrey was, (Outrey was
as
as usual,
usual,elected
elected
by aby
vasta majority.)
vast majority.)
The columns
Theofcolumns
the Tribune
of the Tribun
continued
continued alsoalso
to plead
to plead
the cause
theof cause
lesserofmen
lesser
caughtmen
up incaught
situations
up in situation
where
whereFrench
Frenchinjustice
injustice
seemedseemed
likely tolikely
prevail.toDuring
prevail.
the first
During
halfthe first hal
of
of 1928,
1928,forfor
example,
example,
it sought
it sought
to defendtoa defend
peasant family
a peasant
in Bac-Lieu
family in Bac-Li
province
province which
which
had had
refused
refused
to surrender
to surrender
its land toits
a fraudulent
land to a fraudule
Chinese
Chinese money
moneylender,
lender,
with the
withconsequence
the consequence
that a French
that
gendarme
a French genda
and
andthree
threemembers
members
of the
offamily
the family
had beenhad
killed
been
in ankilled
affray.47
in an affray.47
By
Bythe
theend
end
of 1928
of 1928
however,
however,
it was becoming
it was becoming
more and more
more and m
difficult
difficult forfor
the the
Constitutionalists
Constitutionalists
to avoid dissociating
to avoid dissociating
themselves themsel
from
frommoremoreextreme
extreme
groups.
groups.
In the next
In the
twonext
or three
two years
or three
they were
years they we
able
abletotosurvive
survive
onlyonly
by proclaiming
by proclaiming
their moderation
their moderation
to the point of
to the poin
losing
losingallall
influence
influence
over over
the extremists.
the extremists.
On the government
On the government
side, sid

43
43 Tribune
TribuneIndochinoise,
Indochinoise,
14 March
14 March
and 4 April
and1927.
4 April 1927.
44
44 Contribution,
Contribution,etc. (as
etc.note
(as41),
noteI, p.41),
44. I, p. 44.
45
45 Tribune
TribuneIndochinoise,
Indochinoise,
27 May271927;
May La 1927;
Presse La
Indochinoise,
Presse Indochinoise,
5, 12 June 1927.
5, 12 June 1927.
46
46 Tribune
Tribune Indochinoise,
Indochinoise,
25 July25andJuly28 October
and 281927;
October
28 March,
1927;
I6 and
28 March,
24 April I6 and 24 A
1928.
1928.Also
Alsosentenced
sentenced
to imprisonment
to imprisonment
in this case
inwas
this
Nguyen
case was
Khanh
Nguyen
Toan, who
Khanh Toan,
spent
spentsome
sometime
time
in Moscow
in Moscow
in the 1930s,
in theand1930s,
later became
and later
Deputy
became
Minister
Deputy
of Minister
Education in Hanoi.
47 Tribune Indochinoise, 30 April- I May and 20 June 1928.

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BUI QUANG CHIEU AND THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PARTY 145

Varenne was succeeded by Pasquier in 1928 and the conservativ

were once more in control. During the autumn of I928 and the
half of 1929 they began to crack down on as many secret organizat
as the Suiret6 was able to unearth. Nguyen An Ninh's activities
by now no longer as secret as he wished, and in October he
arrested and sentenced some months later to three years' impri
ment.48 Then in December came the Rue Barbier murder in Sai
leading to the arrest of about forty-five members of Communist a
other secret organizations operating in Saigon, including inciden
Pham Van Dong who already had a position of some importan
the Revolutionary Youth Association. They were kept in prison
their trial in July I930, and most of them remained in prison f
good while after that.49 The press was also carefully watched by
Surete, and a number of journalists were arrested and fined: D
Van Loi for example, a former contributor to La Tribune Indigene
now an editor of L'Echo Annamite, was fined by a Saigon cour
I June I929; and a fortnight later the police arrested Cao Hai
editor of a new French-language paper L'Ere Nouvelle.5 The you
journalists were nevertheless becoming bolder, notably Diep Va
who founded the Vietnamese-language Thdn-Chung in I929, on
to see it closed down in March of the following year.51
It was much easier however to make arrests in Saigon than to
control over secret activities in the villages. That the colonial author
had by no means succeeded in destroying the new opposition move
in the countryside of Cochinchina became apparent in the mo
after May I930, when there was a series of demonstrations and
in the Mekong provinces and in the country to the north of Sa
Initially they were in support of a demand for relief from taxa
but as time went on they became extreme. The Communists (who h
founded the Vietnam Communist party in Hong Kong in Febr
I930) claimed credit for these disturbances, even though they
not have been entirely responsible. The unrest was less serious
than in northern Annam, particularly the province of Nghe-An
it went on for a considerable time, and it was not until about June
that Cochinchina was wholly quiet again.52 Some of those
48 On 8 May I929, Tribune Indochinoise, 7 February 1930, review of even
the previous year.
49 Tribune Indochinoise, I6-I 8 July 1930. 50 As note 48.
51 Echo Annamite, 25 March I930.
62 A list of the disturbances is contained in Contribution, etc., IV, pp. I
short account of the events of 1930-31 will be found in Ralph Smith, Viet-N
the West, London, I968, pp. o04-8.
D

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 146 R. B. SMITH

obviously
obviouslyinvolved
involvedwerewere
arrested
arrested
and sent
and to
sent
Poulo
to Condore
Poulo Condore
or into or into
exile
exile further
furtherafield.
afield.
If the
If the
disturbances
disturbances
themselves
themselves
can be compared
can be compared
in
in some
somerespects
respects with
with
thethe
secret
secret
society
society
movement
movement
of 1916,ofso1916,
also can
so also can
their
theiraftermath
aftermath which
whichwaswas
the the
disruption
disruption
of theofmovement
the movement
that created
that created
them,
them,andanda aconsequent
consequentperiod
period
of calm.
of calm.
As
As for
forthe
theConstitutionalists,
Constitutionalists,
theythey
couldcould
do little
do but
little
insist
butthat
insist
they that they
themselves
themselveswere were
notnot
responsible;
responsible;
somesome
of them
of them
went even
went further
even further
and and
argued
arguedthat
thatthey
theythemselves
themselves
werewere
bourgeoisie,
bourgeoisie,
and therefore
and therefore
as much as much
aa target
targetfor
forthethe
Communists
Communists as the
as French
the French
themselves.
themselves.
The truthThemaytruth may
have
have been
beena alittle
little
more
more
complicated,
complicated,
for the
forline
thetaken
line by
taken
L'Echo
by L'Echo
Annamite
Annamiteduring
duringthethe
crisis
crisis
seems
seems
to suggest
to suggest
that some
thatofsome
the Constitu-
of the Constitu-
tionalists
tionalistssupported
supported thethe
early
early
demonstrations
demonstrations
in Mayinand
May
June
and1930
June
and 1930 and
the
the peasants'
peasants'demands
demands
forfor
tax tax
relief
relief
following
following
a typhoon
a typhoon
in West in West
Cochinchina,
Cochinchina,and and
that
that
they
they
onlyonly
became
became
alarmed
alarmed
when the
when
extremists
the extremists
among
amongthe thedemonstrators
demonstrators insisted
insisted
in going
in going
further.53
further.53
But even
Butif this
even if this
were
werethethecase,
case,
the
the
effect
effect
of the
of the
disturbances
disturbances
as a whole
as a was
wholeto prove
was to prove
that
that the
theCommunists
Communists andand
other
other
extremists
extremists
had a much
had a greater
much greater
influenceinfluence
in
in the
thecountryside
countryside than
than
the the
Constitutionalists,
Constitutionalists,
and at and
the same
at the
time
same time
to
to make
makeimpossible
impossibleforfor
thethe
future
future
any real
anyalliance
real alliance
betweenbetween
the two the two
groups.
groups.The
TheConstitutionalists
Constitutionalists
would
would
henceforth
henceforth
be dismissed
be dismissed
by manyby many
Cochinchinese
Cochinchinese as as
pro-French.
pro-French.
It
It would
wouldbebewrong
wronghowever
however
to suppose
to suppose
that Constitutionalists
that Constitutionalists
and and
Communists
Communistswerewere
thethe
only
only
two two
groups
groups
competing
competing
for a position
for a position
of of
strength
strengthininCochinchina
Cochinchinaat this
at this
time.time.
A third
A third
element
element
in the situation
in the situation
was the federation of sects which had combined to establish the Cao-
Dai religion.54 It had been inaugurated at a temple in Tay-Ninh
province in October I926, and by the end of that year it had about
twenty 'oratories' in eight provinces. Its titular head, Le Van Trung
(I875-I934), was a near contemporary of Bui Quang Chieu and a
fellow-pupil at the College Chasseloup-Laubat; he had been a member
of the Conseil Colonial, and later the representative of Cochinchina in
the (nominated) council which advised the Governor-General at
Hanoi, a position from which he resigned in I925.55 But there were
younger men in the background, notably Pham Cong Tac (d. 1958)
who had links with the exiled prince Cuong-De still living in Japan,
53 Cf, Nguyen Tan Duoc's reply to an attack on the Constitutionalists by La
Depcphe d'Indochine, in Echo Annamite, 7 June 1930.
54 For a brief account of the religion, see Smith, op. cit., pp. 7I-6. Fuller details
will be found in Contribution, etc., VII, which is devoted entirely to Caodaism.
55 Than Chung (Saigon newspaper), I4 and 2I March I966. Unlike Chieu, Trung
had not been educated in France; there is no evidence that he was ever active in
the Constitutionalist party.

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BUI QUANG CHIEU AND THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PARTY 147

and the Tay-Ninh branch of the movement was strongly

from about 1937. The movement was indeed extremely d
is not surprising since it was really a federation of sect
that already by 1930 some of its followers were collabor
Communists, at a time when Le Van Trung was exhortin
to come to settle at Tay-Ninh so as to avoid persecuti
munists. Other Caodaists were supporters of the Co
Party: for example, Le Kim Ty who was one of the
candidates for the Saigon Municipal Council in I
Quang Nghiem, whom we met as a vice-president of t
boycott in 9I9956 There is nothing to suggest that B
himself was ever a member; but Nguyen Phan Long
that he was a Caodaist in 1930, was taking an acti
section of the movement by I937.57
However, even if there was some overlap of membe
the Constitutionalist group and the Caodaists, the lat
a political technique which was quite different from con
They did not necessarily wish to use violence, nor were
opposed to a constitutional system of government if Vi
independent. But they themselves adopted the technique
society, which was in many respects a continuation o
movement of I913-I6. The contrast between the Cao
Constitutionalists demonstrates perhaps better than any
true significance of the latter: that they tried to introd
namese politics a new political method, derived fro
education. They did so within the framework of such a n
and such limited opportunities for education that i
method was able to establish itself only in Saigon a
provincial towns. In the villages their methods made
and so the countryside was left to the secret societies, w
or Communist. The gulf between the moderation of
tionalists and the extremism of the other groups tende
coincide with the gulf between town and country. Unfo
the Constitutionalists, Vietnam is a country whose
on the whole decided in the villages, rather than th
Constitutionalists, despite some internal differences
situation where things were not going their way, w

56 G. Gobron, History and Philosophy of Caodaism, Saigon, I9

Franco-Annamite, I, July 1929, pp. 9-I I; Revue Caodaique, 1950, p
57 Echo Annamite, I6 January I930; Luoc-Su Dao Cao-Dai, Hist
Caodaisme, Tourane, 1956, p. 2o.

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 I48 R. B. SMITH

win seats in the Conseil Colonial as the elections of I930 showed. But
it was no longer enough. The one chance of Cochinchina's developing
a Parliamentary system with the same kind of spontaneity as did
British India, depended on the villages being absorbed into a constitu-
tional system during the I92os and I930S. The reform of 1922 rep-
resented a step in that direction, but it was not followed up. When
the French eventually left the colony they did not leave behind them
any basis for rural democracy, and the election of village councillors
was no substitute for a tradition of electing representatives to sit in
Saigon. Perhaps in I93I, when the disturbances in the countryside
had died down and many of the people who created them were in
prison, there was still a possibility for the colonial government to allow
reforms to take place and so make possible constitutional development
along lines comparable to that of British India. But nothing was done.
The comparison with British India is not so unreasonable as events
in Vietnam since I945 might lead one to suppose; it was one which
the Constitutionalists themselves made, for one of their principal
sources of inspiration during the I920S was the career of Gandhi. In
I929, Bui Quang Chieu and Duong Van Giao went to Calcutta to
attend the National Congress. They also took the opportunity to visit
Tagore's university at Santiniketan, although they did not meet Tagore
himself until later in the year when they persuaded him to call briefly
at Saigon on his way home from Japan.58 Chieu wrote a series of
articles in La Tribune Indochinoise praising both Gandhi and British
policies in India, which drew forth the criticism from Babut's Revue
Franco-Annamite that Gandhi was out of date and that it would be a
long time before Bui Quang Chieu toured Indochina in bare feet.59
The implication that the Constitutionalist leader was himself far more
Westernized and progressive than Gandhi was fair. Nevertheless by
1930 Chieu was probably seeking a marriage of Eastern tradition with
Western modernity to a far greater extent than had been the case in
1917. Gandhi himself, interestingly enough, had by this time quite a
different attitude to Britain from that which had led him to organize
an ambulance unit in Europe in I9I4 and to oppose any movement
for home rule until the war was over.
One factor in Chieu's changing outlook was no doubt the failure of
successive French governors to respond to his demands. Another may
have been his long stay in France itself, from 1932 to I941, as Indo-

68 La Tribune Indochinoise, 29 June 1929; cf. Nguyen Dang Thuc; Asian Culture
and Vietnamese Humanism, Saigon, I965.
69 Revue Franco-Annamite, I, Hanoi, I July I929, pp. 3-6 and II, I6 July, pp. 1-5.

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BUI QUANG CHIEU AND THE CONSTITUTIONALIST PARTY I49

chinese representative in the Conseil Superieur de la Fran

By the time he returned home, on the eve of the Japan
the Constitutionalists had long since ceased to dom
political scene. The initiative had passed to younger
in the Conseil Colonial three Trotskyists had roundly
Constitutionalist opponents in the elections of 1939, on
a few months later when the French authorities clam
Communists.60 In I942 La Tribune Indochinoise, along w
papers unacceptable to the Japanese, was closed down. It
reflect very well the changing pattern of Bui Quang
during the preceding decade. In July he wrote of th
Japan and the Anglo-Saxon powers :61

C'est la consequence logique d'un antagonisme irre

des causes morales, viennent s'ajouter celles d'ordr
quasiment insoluble.

And in September he discussed favourably the trend to

Chinese characters and studying the Vietnamese past: 'n
neglige notre propre pays'.62 Had he, at the age of seve
to regret his faith in the France to which he had travell
enthusiasm half a century before and whose values h
and tried to put into practice? Perhaps so; but his t
yet complete. With Ta Thu Thau he might have foun
ment, but with the Viet-Minh there could be none
I945, as the Viet-Minh provisional committee was b
Anglo-French action to abandon Saigon, Chieu was
house at Phu-Nhuan, and executed-a fate which he sh
Thu Thau as well as with the pro-Japanese H6 Van
Quynh.63 In 1945 Constitutionalism was no longer, for
a practical alternative to the violence of war.

That the Vietnamese themselves should have all but

Constitutionalist part is not perhaps surprising, for
circumstances of the years after 1945 it was difficult to
realities of the 1920S and very easy to dismiss as pro-Fre
and attitudes of men who took French power for grant

60 Devillers, op. cit., p. 69. 61 La Tribune Indochinoise,

62 La Tribune Indochinoise, 28 September I942.
63 Devillers, op. cit., p. 18I.

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 150 R. B. SMITH

only to change the details o

some of the Cochinchinese
Autonomous State of I946-4
(one of whom was Nguyen
months in I950), none of th
life since 1945 has owned to
the Constitutionalist Party.
by Western students, at a t
are being devoted to the estab
democracy in South Vietn
Colonial of Cochinchina was
to a democratic institution in
Party was the only group wit
a truly representative assembl
gradual modernization. If n
interest for American schol
reasons for its failure.

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