No. 450.
Government House.
Hong-Kong,12th.October, 1900.
sir,
REC Reat 10 NOV
186
I have the honour to inform you that on the
12th. September I received a letter from the Reverend Mr.Guss-
mann of the Basel Mission at Li Long, a Mission Station seven
miles north of our borders, informing me that a great number
h of Triad Society men were assembled at Tam Sui, a small town
in Kwai Shin district, with the intention of rising in rebel- lion in a short time. It was reported that 2 Japanese and 3
Europeans were assisting the rebels. The Reverend Mr. Gussmann
was very anxious about the safety of his people and asked if
I could protect them.
2. I requested Her Majesty's Consul General at
Canton to convey information of the state of affairs to the
Acting Viceroy to impress upon His Excellency the gravity of
the situation and to offer to him the assistance of Her Majes-
ty's Troops in protecting the Mission if necessary. At the same
time after consultation with Major-General Gascoigne a small
force of Infantry and guns was held in readiness for immediate
despatch to our frontier should necessity for their presence arise, and the Commodore ordered H.M.S."HANDY' to proceed to The Right Honourable
Mirs
JOSEPH CHAMBERLAIN,M.P.
&C.,
BC. *