AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
83341
398
[May 26.]
SECTION 11.
No. 1.
Acting Consul-General Scott to the Marquess of Lansdowne.--(Received May 26.)
(No. 40. Confidential.) My Lord,
Canton, April 24, 1902.
I HAVE the honour to inclose herewith copy of my despatch to His Majesty's Minister in Peking, No. 36, of to-day's date, on the subject of French activity in Canton.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
JAMES SCOTT.
Inclosure in No. 1.
Acting Consul-General Scott to Sir E. Sutow.
(No. 36. Confidential.) Sir,
I HAVE the honour to inform you that I yesterday received a visit from Kung
Canton, April 24, 1902. Hsin Tsan, formerly Viceroy's Secretary and Deputy for Foreign Affairs, and now appointed Acting Prefect of Kuang Chou Fu.
After some conversation upon general topics, Mr. Kung referred to the renewal by the French Consul of the application for a Concession on Honam Island. He said that the Viceroy had refused to entertain the application; and that, with a view to the final settlement of this question, his Excellency was addressing the Wai-wu Pu, asking them to offer to the Foreign Ministers a General Foreign Settlement in Canton, including areas both in Honam and Fati, in which are situated several lots of land recently acquired by Europeans.
The Prefect then went on to complain in strong terms of the unreasonable attitude taken up by the French Consul in all matters, and the consequent difficulty experienced by the Authorities in maintaining satisfactory relations with him. Demands were being continually poured in upon the Viceroy for Concessions for railways, &c.-demands with which his Excellency has repeatedly declared his inability to comply, even if he were willing to do so. One application followed another; and before there had been time to consult properly with the Central Government concerning one scheme, others more important and extensive had already been sent in by the French Consul. Mr. Kung added that the Viceroy's patience was becoming exhausted; hinted that his Excellency's sickness was, to some extent, assumed in order to save him the annoyance and strain of visits; and asked my advice as to what could be done to relieve the present tension. I told him that all I could do in these matters was to keep you informed to the best of my ability of the trend of events; and I begged him. to warn the Viceroy to exercise the greatest care in his relations with the French Consul, and to avoid showing in his correspondence any sign of annoyance or temper which might furnish M. Hardouin with cause for complaint.
The conversation then turned upon Mission matters; and here my visitor com- plained bitterly of the action of the Roman Catholic clergy in accepting persons of bad character as converts; and of the French Consul, in defending them when they were pursued by the Chinese Authorities. The latter, he said, were being continually hampered in this way; they had been repeatedly called upon by the Foreign Powers to keep order in this Province, and yet their efforts in that direction were being obstructed at every turn by the necessity of satisfying the French Consul as to the guilt of notorious criminals whom the missionaries had taken under their protection. Mr. Kung begged me very carnestly to think of some means by which matters could be improved; and asked if I would report the state of affairs to you. I promised to
do so; and added a suggestion that the Viceroy should request the Wai-wu Pu to
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