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committed what in English law would be perjury of a very serious nature, I have the honour to request your sanction to my asking the Governor at Nan Chiang to award to the latter some suitable, but not vindictive, punishment. As far as the evidence at the trial went, Hsiao Fa should either have been liberated or condemned to death.
Rewards.-I cannot but regard the manner in which this part of the stipulations made by His Majesty's Government has been carried out by the Chinese authorities as most unsatisfactory. The revised list of Chinese who exerted themselves to protect the lives and property of foreigners whose names I brought to Sir Ernest Satow's notice, and to each of whom a substantial reward was to be given, is contained in Mr. Carnegie's despatch. I have the honour to report as follows upon the rewards so far allotted to the various officers and men named therein :-
Hung Wei-lin, Commodore of the River Fleet, and Wu Chén-jo, Deputy in the Foreign Bureau, have been placed next on the list for promotion. This is too uncertain; they should at once be promoted to the rank of Chih Chou.
Wu Melting, captain of a gunboat, to be promoted to the next Ying vacancy. Should he at once be made a Ying Kuan, preferably at Kiukiang, that being his wish.
Hsu Tê-fên, Deputy in the Industrial School; Chiên K'uei (not in original list); Sun Lang, Police Deputy; Hsu Hui-Chuan, ditto; Liu Hung-lin (not in the original list); Shên Fu-hêng, of the Ching Ch'a Chu. When vacancies occur, their cases will be considered. This is too indefinite; they should be given the rank of Chih Chou, and sent immediately to fill acting posts.
Liu Kuo-tung, Squadron Commander; Chên Chin-tang, Commandant of the Ch'ang Fei Chun; Hung Chan-k'uei, Major in the Right Battalion, Kêng Ch'ao-t'ai, Superintendent of the Mint; Liu Chu-shu, Lieutenant-Colonel of the City Guard; Wang Te-sheng, Captain of the City Guard, Liu Hsin-ch'uan, Captain of Cavalry: Tsao Tê-fu, an Inspector of the 1st Battalion of the Territorial Army; Ho Huan-wên, Lieutenant of Cavalry, Wang Hsi-lin, ditto; Pan Têng-hsien, ditto; Hsu Tzo-chün, Sergeant of the Provincial Garrison. These cases have not yet been considered, owing to a change of the Taotai in charge of military matters. Each case should be carefully considered, and definite promotion given immediately; otherwise nothing may be done for three to five years, or the matter may be overlooked altogether.
Pao Chiêng haang, of the Chồng Shou Ying; Pao Pu-kuei, ditto; Heung 1-shéng (Hsiung Lan-sen), of the Chang Pei Chün. These have received 7 taels each. They exerted themselves strenuously throughout the day of the massacre, and the reward must be considered inadequate. It cannot be construed as a "substantial" reward, as stipulated, and should be trebled at least.
Chang Ya-chan and Lü Chin-piao, of the Ching Cha Chü, have received 55 dollars and 45 dollars respectively. This may be considered sufficient.
Chu Ping-kun, of the Ching Cha Chi, is to be sent to Japan to study (probably for a military career). This, being at his own request, will, if carried out, be sufficient compensation for his voluntary aid to the missionaries in distress.
I submit that the above list hardly indicates that this portion of the conditions imposed by His Majesty's Government has been carried out in the right spirit, and Had it not been that its immediate and adequate fulfilment should be insisted upon, for the courage and exertions of those named, it is probable that most of the missionaries in Nan Ch'ang at the time would have been murdered and all the Mission buildings destroyed. The sympathy, bravery, and hard work of what may be regarded as a small, but just-minded, pro-foreign party, ready to do right, even on behalf of aliens, in face of the risk of official disapproval, are characters and acts calling for commendation and encouragement, and it is to be feared that if the Governor at Nan Chang is not compelled to fulfil the stipulation as to granting a substantial reward to each of those named in Mr. Carnegie's note to Prince Ching of the 27th June last, since it cannot but be known that the stipulation has been made, the failure to insist upon its proper fulfilment will be regarded as a sign of weakness or indifference, and the name of foreigners and the cause of foreign Missions in Nan Chiang be in so far prejudiced. In those cases where it is impossible to immediately find a substantive post of higher grade, promotion in rank accompanied by an adequate pecuniary reward should at once be given.
Of the names omitted from the revised list, Pao Fang, Miss Warr's writer, exerted himself throughout the day and part of the night, and was probably the means of Miss Warr's life being saved. This man and Chen p'o p'o, the amah who saved the infant Vera Kingham, should not be allowed to go unrewarded.
That a feeling of disappointment exists amongst those who, instead of deserting the missionaries in the hour of danger, worked hard on their behalf, and in many cases saved their lives and protected their property, is shown by the following extract from a letter, dated the 11th September, received by me from the Rev. A. E. Thor, of the China Inland Mission at Nan Ch'ang:-
"I have asked a good many, direct and indirect, if So-and-so has been rewarded, but always the same answer 'No,' and no one seems to think there will be any. To-day Liu Kuch-tung, of the cavalry camp, came in to have a chat; I asked him about the reward. He laughed and said: 'Reward there will be none, but a few days ago a note was sent to us from the General, which he had received from Peking, in which we were thanked for good service rendered the country, and that five names (mine being one) were put in the book of honour amongst those who have rendered good service to the country, and that is all we will get. If this country is too poor (as they always say) to give these men higher rank and as such more pay, it seems to me that the Chinese Government could afford to give their officers higher kong-ming' (degree). That would cost the Government nothing, but would work wonders amongst those who get it. Now, they all seem disappointed, as they had expected something, as the Governor cried out during the riot: 'A thousand taels to any one who saves a foreigner.'
I submit that the Governor at Nan Chang should be instructed by telegraph to see that the stipulations of the two Governments are carried out immediately and in a proper spirit.
Compensation. The sum of 4,700l.—the amount agreed upon as compensation for the destroyed property of the late Rev. H. C. Kingham and for the support of the infant, Margaret Vera Kingham-was received by me to-day (the 18th September) from the Governor of Nan Ch'ang, through the Prefect (the Taotai being in attendance upon his dying mother), to whom I gave a receipt. By the instructions of His Majesty's Chief Judge at Shanghae I have deposited the 700l. in the Hong Kong and Shanghae Banking Corporation, Shanghae, in an account named "His Britannic Majesty's Consul, Kiukiang, a/c K.," and the 4,000, in the same bank in London to the account of "His Britannic Majesty's Chief Judge, Supreme Court, Shanghae."
All the other claims for personal property destroyed having, as already reported, been settled satisfactorily by the former Governor, Hu Ting-kan, there remains only the question of the new piece of land which it was agreed should be granted to the missionaries for the purpose of erecting buildings in which to carry on the work begun by the late Rev. H. C. Kingham and his wife. The 700l. paid as compensation for the late Mr. Kingham's property having included the land on which the house and chapel had been erected, I have stated to the Rev. H. E. Pownall, representing the Stewards' Company (of which Mr. Kingham was a member), that this new piece of land, which obviously cannot form part of Mr. Kingham's estate, may be considered as the property of the Stewards' Company, given to them for the carrying on of the work interrupted by the death of Mr. Kingham, feeling that this course would meet with your sanction and approval. Further negotiations as to whether the same site shall be granted, or whether it will be advisable to rebuild the Mission premises at a greater distance from the Roman Catholic Mission (their proximity having led to their destruction during the late massacre), are under correspondence between the missionaries, the Nan Chang officials, and myself, and will probably shortly reach a satisfactory conclusion.
Settlement and Guardianship.-After correspondence with the Supreme Court at Shanghae, I have suggested the appointment of the Rev. H. E. Pownali and Rev. R. J. Hopkins as trustees for the minor, Margaret Vera Kingham. Owing to the absence of the parties, I have not yet taken the hearing for the appointment of a guardian, and if, as seems probable from what Mr. Pownall has stated, Mr. Hopkins or he would prefer to be guardian rather than trustee, another reliable person nearly connected will be appointed joint trustee with one or the other. The matter will be proceeded with as soon as possible, and the Crown Advocate at Shanghae will then be instructed to draw up a deed of settlement, a draft of which will be forwarded for your approval.
A claim for the guardianship of the infant, Margaret Vera Kingham, has been made, though as yet only in an informal manner, in private letters to Mrs. Pownall and Mrs. Hopkins by a Mr. Percy Kingham, a hotel-keeper of Drummond, South Africa, brother of the late Rev. H. C. Kingham, but being satisfied from information gathered from various sources that his guardianship would not be to the interests of the ward, and the Chief Judge concurring in my view, the appointment of a guardian will be proceeded with irrespective of any claim which he may see fit to set up.
I have, &c.
(Signed) E. T. C. WERNER.
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