[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government)
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AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
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No. 1.
[October 5.] REC
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REGE 6 NOV 07
SECTION 5.
(No. 392.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received October 5.)
Peking, August 20, 1907.
I HAVE the honour to forward to you herewith a Memorandum drawn up for me by Mr. Garnett from various despatches and semi-official letters which I have received from His Majesty's Consular officers on recent events in China, and which I did not consider of sufficient importance to report to you on separately.
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure in No. 1.
Political Summary of Recent Events in China.
1. Amoy.
TOWARDS the end of May it was stated in the London newspapers, as reported by Reuter, that 30,000 insurgents had risen in open rebellion within 40 miles of Amoy. The report was quite baseless. The United States' Consul, it is true, in spite of the fact that none of his colleagues felt that there was any cause for alarm lest the insur- rectionary movement should spread to the province of Fukien, telegraphed to the State Department at Washington for a man-of-war, two of which were immediately dispatched to Amoy. It is suspected that the Chinese linguist to the United States' Consulate, a person of considerable notoriety, had been passing on to the Consul "authentic" infor- mation into the authenticity of which he had not fully inquired. As a matter of fact, there was a small outbreak just over the Kuangtung border, at a place about 70 miles distant from Amoy. The cause of the trouble is said to have been the imposition of an unpopular or unjust tax. The people rose in considerable numbers against the officials. Order was, however, restores. The whole affair was grossly exaggerated by the press,
2. Canton.
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Viceroy Tsen.-British commercial enterprise received under Viceroy Chou distinct impetus, and it was further assisted by the improved attitude towards His Majesty's Consulate-General of the local Magistrates and other subordinate officials. Matters received early attention, and many cases were promptly and satisfactorily settled.
As this was in marked contradistinction to the state of affairs which had prevailed during Viceroy Tsen's tenure of office, there was a certain amount of alarm and uneasi ness at this official's reappointment to the Viceroyalty. In view of his Excellency's notorious ill-health, he was unwilling to take up the appointment, and frequently petitioned the Throne to be allowed to resign, but for a long time in vain. During all this time he delayed at Shanghae, and finally the Court accepted his resignation.
Piracy. On the night of the 30th May two native boats in which missionaries were travelling were attacked by armed robbers. The roatter was duly reported to the Viceroy, and instructions were issued for the arrest of the robbers and the recovery of the property stolen. The District Magistrate has already paid the losses in full. The piracy on the 6th July of the British launch "Kicheung," distant some 9 miles only from Canton, has already been reported. On the 13th April last the Chinese launch "Kwong Cheong," towing a passenger boat, was pirated in the same neighbourhood. The matter calls for special mention, because piracies of towing launches are extremely
rare.
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