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Your servant at once proceeded, on receipt of the above instructions, to address a despatch to the British Foreign Office, quoting the rule of international law, and the established practice of all nations, and stating that China was at liberty to appoint Consuls to reside at different places in the British dominious under those rules, and that as soon as preliminary arrangements should have been made with the Foreign Office your servant would communicate with the Tsung-li Yamên with a view to making satisfactory dispositions, &c.
In your servant's humble opinion, Consuls are very important functionaries, whilst on the other hand the number of Chinese in the various islands of the South Seas is very great.
Unless a comprehensive view of the whole bearings be taken, it is impossible to be certain what is our true interest in any particular point; and, unless arrangements are made with each country, it is impossible to know what takes place in this or that corner of the world. Your servant therefore begs to lay the whole subject from beginning to end before his august Master.
As a rule, most foreign States hold commerce to be a foundation of strength and wealth, and they always appoint Consuls at the ports open to trade in each other's countries, in order to protect the merchant. Whenever there are any harassing laws, these remonstrate from time to time in such wise that merchants ply their vocation in comfort, and trade goes on flourishing. At the same time officers travelling for information, and artizans of all kinds, find a home wherever they go.
The power of Consuls sent by the different European States to China is, however, greater than in other cases, the reason being that, at first, China was ignorant of foreign affairs, and consented to their jurisdiction over their nationals in China, just as though they were local executive officials. In all cases in which foreigners are con- cerned, such as homicide, claims for debt, &c., it is always the Consul who deals with the case himself, and this often thwarts the action of our own local authorities; the frequent disputes which used to arise in the diffrent Chinese ports were often at bottom owing to this arrangement. Yet even the Consuls in other countries, who have no executive power, and are only there, nominally at least, for the protection of trade, even these officers are looked upon as very important by the different States; and whenever any international interest calls for it, arrangements are made to appoint one, for, the more far-reaching the branches, the stronger the trunk; the wider the sources of information, the more effectual the springs of action; the happier the people, the wider a country's influence. All this goes without saying.
Of the Chinese Consuls abroad, as regards England, there is the Singapore Consul; as regards America, there is the Consul-General at San Francisco, and the Consul at New York; in Spain there is the Consul-General for Cuba, and the Consul at Matanzas; in Peru there is the Consul at Callao; in Japan there are the Consuls at Nagasaki, Yokohama, and Kobé, with a Vice-Consul at Hakodadi; the Tsung-li Yamên having from time to time arranged with the Envoys abroad so that the appointments in North and South America and in Japan are tolerably numerous."
But, as regards the islands in the Southern Seas, scattered about in
every direction, these are of still closer importance to China. The number of Chinese who have gone thither to reside, to trade, to act as coolies, to cultivate the soil, or to engage in mining, reaches a total of 3,000,000 or more.
*
Comparing the results of his own experience with the language of Chang Chi- tung's Memorial, your servant thinks that, of the places where Chinese have congre- gated most thickly, there are four spots in the Dutch and Spanish Colonies to which Consuls should be appointed, to wit: Deli, in Sumatra; Sampaulung [? Samarang], and the ports near it, Batavia, and Manila. In the English and French Colonies there are five places, to wit: Saigon, Tonquin, Hong Kong, Australia, and Rangoon, in Burmah. As regards such other places as Penang, &c., there will be plenty of time to devise means according to opportunity, either to make the nearest Consul act for these places too, or to select well-to-do merchants or gentlemen, giving them the title of Vice-Consul, and a small allowance, and placing them under the nearest Consul; and this accordingly as needs are or are not pressing, and as means suggest themselves. In any case, the expense will not be very great. In the islands of the South Seas, for instance, only a dozen or so of Consuls are required for the complete establishment of the higher grade, and, oven after lesser additions shall have been made from time to time, the total expense ought not to exceed 20,0001. a-year.
Your servant understands that 15 per cent. of the Foreign Customs collection is
* The Consuls in Japan have jurisdiction over Chinese. There are also four or five in Corea also with juris- diction.
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appropriated annually to the cost of Missions abroad-about 300,000l.;* but of late years the total cost of all Missions, including the expense of the peripatetic inquiry officers, has only amounted to about 120,000l. a-year. The Tsung-li Yamên's proposal was to reserve the balance for future requirements of the same nature in other countries; but, in the humble opinion of your servant, Envoys having already been appointed to all the first class Great Powers, whilst Powers of the second and third rank are attended to by the nearest Envoy in addition to his original duties, there will be no necessity for the present to make further appointments. If, on the other hand, these dozen or so of Consular appointments are gradually made, commerce will improve, the people will grow richer, and a responsive sympathy will beat in the internal administration at home. Besides, popular aspirations abroad will be gratified, and the Chinese will no longer entertain feelings of disappointed hope. Incalculable advantage, not appearing on the surface, will be reaped, and foreigners will not be furnished with ground for ridiculing us; the benefits resulting from this will be ten times greater than the expense incurred.
Looking over the Returns of Trade of the different States, and the Comparative Tables of Exports and Imports, your servant observes that from 2,000,000l. to 4,000,0001. in silver leaves China every year for foreign countries. He also observes that the amounts remitted annually from California by Chinese resident there have for several years past reached the total of about 2,000,000, a-year. Though the rate of wages there is comparatively high, yet the number of Chinese is not so very large; so that it may be guessed what sums are remitted from Cuba and Peru, and the same thing may be said of the islands in the south. Now, the balance of trade is very much against China, but some alleviation arises, it thus appears, from the earnings of Chinese abroad, which go to redress the balance in some degree. If this source of income should be closed once more, silver in China will become scarcer than ever, and the poverty of the people being extreme, untoward events are to be dreaded.
To take Singapore as a single instance: our Consul there has been established for thirteen years, and the total expenditure has not amounted to 25,000%, whilst the amounts received as subscriptions towards the various famines and towards the coast defences have reached double that sum: 140,000 or 150,000 merchants and labourers would probably send to China from 2,000,000l. to 4,000,000/. [? annually].
Though Consuls appointed to places abroad have no powers of jurisdiction over Chinese, yet it is certainly their business to protect Chinese subjects. In the event of the Treaties being revised, there must be a provision that our Consuls shall be able to discuss any matter that may come before them with the authority of the place. The foreign officials will thus be able to gain information through the Consul, and the people of the place will be chary about treating Chinese vexatiously or tyrannically. Nay, more, our Envoys abroad, when they may see fit to argue any question with the Foreign Offices, will also have to depend upon what the Consuls report to support their contentions. In this way the foreign officials will be more careful how they act towards Chinese. These are the reasons why the appointment of Consuls is indis- pensable; while, as regards places where there already are Consuls, unquestionably advantages such as those indicated have already accrued.
The benefits gained by Chinese emigrants abroad are even now somewhat less than they used to be; but, if it were possible to appoint Consuls to all the ports in the Southern Seas, it would not be too late to right things again, and to open up a decided source of advantage. The reason why this advice comes so late, and has not been much acted upon so far, is that, when the Treaties with the different countries were mado, China did not know much about foreign places, nor was she aware that there were so many Chinese abroad. Consequently, we gave them the power to appoint Consuls in China, but inserted no provision about our having Consuls abroad. Again, the great marts which the different States have created out of unoccupied islands have owed almost all their prosperity to Chinese immigration, whilst the number of Europeans there is really very small. As soon as ever we begin to talk about appointing Consuls they are certain to set up a howl about our supplanting their rights, and standing in the way of their tyrannical taxation and schemes of conquest. For this reason they are certain to refuse our demands outright at first, and procrastinate as much as possible afterwards. The Foreign Office will pretend that it must consult the
*The revenue from this source is from 2,500,000l. to 3,000,000, but is usually divided into (1) the (1% fund, and (2) the fund. Possibly the 13 fund means ×
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