This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
SOUTH-WEST CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL
No. 1.
90
[February 13.]
SECTION 1.
Sir E. Satow to the Marquess of Lansdowne.--(Received February 13, 1904.)
(No. 450.) My Lord,
Peking, December 31, 1903. ON the 19th September last I received a note from the Board of Foreign Affairs informing me that the claims of the Roman Catholic and Protestant Missions, arising out of the disturbances which occurred in Szechuan between May and October, 1902, had been settled by the local authorities of the various districts affected in consultation with the representatives of the Missions concerned, and that the total indemnity agreed upon was 696,366 taels. These are the disturbances referred to in the Memorandum by Mr. Acting Consul Wilton, inclosed in Mr. Townley's despatch to your Lordship, No. 370 of the 12th December, 1902.
I replied to the Board's note requesting information as to the amounts paid English as distinguished from other Protestant Missions and from Catholic Missions, and I also asked that the sums paid for Mission property and for that of converts be specified. My inquiries, which were referred by the Board to the Viceroy of Szechuan, have now been answered. It appears that out of the total indemnity mentioned, the sum of 8,200 taels only was paid to English Missions, of which 1,000 taels was a voluntary contribution on the part of the authorities towards the building of a church. It was not specified, the Viceroy explains, at the time the settlement was arrived at what proportion of the claims was for losses incurred by the Missions as distinguished from those of the converts. The Missions that suffered during the disturbances were those in the district towns of Mei Chou, San Tai, She Hung, Jen Shou, Chien Chou, and Yen Ting, all of which, I understand, are stations of the Friends Foreign Mission. In one or two cases both missionaries and converts refused all compensation.
The only other Protestant Missions affected by the disturbances were American. Their claim is stated by Mr. Hosie, in his Report on affairs in Szechuan, inclosed in Mr. Townley's despatch to your Lordship No. 115 of the 24th March, to have amounted to 6,525 taels. It may be presumed, therefore, that the balance of the total indemnity, after deducting the Protestant claims, namely, 681,641 taels, was paid over to the French Mission in Szechuan. These figures present a rather striking contrast, but, as the movement was chiefly directed against the Roman Catholics, who are very numerous in the province, it is not surprising that their losses were far greater than those of other Missions.
Mr. Hosie mentions that in the same Report that the indemnity originally claimed by the French Bishop was 2,000,000 taels for the destruction of Mission property, and 200,000 taels for the lives of the 2,000 converts alleged to have been massacred, and that he demanded payment by the Viceroy. The latter, however, insisted that it was a matter for the local authorities to investigate and settle, and it would appear from the Board's note that he maintained his point successfully. In any case the Mission have been satisfied with a far smaller amount than they at first demanded.
I have, &c. (Signed) ERNEST SATOW.
[1847]