(This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
!
!
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[21611]
No. 1.
404 [July 1.]
SECTION 1.
26320
Rec.
(No. 237.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received July 1.) REG 23 JUL 07
Peking, May 15, 1907. SINCE the receipt of your telegram No. 37 of the 6th April I have been waiting for a suitable opportunity of approaching the Wai-wu Pu on the question of the proposed alterations in the Mixed Court amendments.
A few days ago, in the course of a general conversation with Mr. Tong Shoa-yi on the state of things at Shanghae, I touched upon the subject, and pointed out the possibility of future misunderstandings if the Regulations were accepted as they stood, without any proviso being made for the continuance of the existing practice of the Court.
His Excellency was disposed to make light of the whole question. He had never, he said, been in favour of the amended Rules, which were at best a makeshift arrange- ment, and would themselves require to be revised in the course of a year or two, What he desired to see in Shanghae was a Court presided over by an officer holding the rank of Judge, and, until that was established, he saw little good in tinkering at the present Regulations, especially as things seemed to be going on smoothly at present.
The question of female prisoners mentioned in section 1 of the Wai-wu Pu's proposal, forwarded in my despatch No. 230 of to-day's date, gave me an opportunity of broaching the subject yesterday at the Wai-wu Pu. I explained frankly to the Grand Secretaries Na and Ch'ü the difficulty we experienced in accepting the amend- ments without some definite recognition of the custom which had grown up in the course of years, and had served to supplement the Regulations in the working of the Court. I instanced especially the custody of the male prisoners, which had been intrusted to the Municipal Council for over thirty years, but which was left in some ambiguity by the amendments.
The Ministers were guarded in their reply, but made no attempt to question the reasonableness of our point of view. They were evidently apprehensive lest the admission of established procedure instead of exact rules might commit them to an indefinite undertaking, and they asked me to give them a Memorandum embodying the exact wording of the alteration required. They evinced no anxiety for the signature of the Regulations, but, on the other hand, they did not give evidence of any desire to introduce judicial reforms at Shanghae of the nature contemplated by their late colleague, Mr. Tong.
I have, &c. (Signed)
J. N. JORDAN.
[2570 a-]