[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[1044]
No. 1.
503
0.
6160
RECE [January 31.] R 20 FEB 08
SECTION 1.
Sir.
Foreign Office to Board of Trade.
Foreign Office, January 31, 1908. I AM directed by Secretary Sir E. Grey to transmit to you, to be laid before the Roard of Trade, copies of correspondence, as marked in the margin,* relating to the proposed revision of the Regulations for the control of British launch traffic on, the Canton and West Rivers.
This correspondence may be summarized as follows:-
On the 4th March, 1907, His Majesty's Minister at Peking forwarded a set of Rules drawn up by Mr. Mansfield, His Majesty's Consul-General at Canton, for dealing with local difficulties connected with the launch traffic on the Canton and
West Rivers.
Mr. Mansfield pointed out that Chinese launches on these waters were all heavily taxed for licences, &c., the amount paid by them being nearly 1,000 taels per annum, and some of them paid, besides, large sums for monopolies of certain sections of the waterways. Launches under foreign flags were, of course, exempt from these taxes, and were not bound to recognize any monopolies. Hence the native launches were heavily handicapped against their foreign competitors, and it followed that the protection of foreign flags was a greatly coveted boon.
Of the forty-five registered British launches, twenty odd were registered as the property of C. T. Fisher, a half-caste British subject, who was also agent for ten more, the property of Companies in Hong Kong. A recent inquiry into a piracy case indi- cated a most unsatisfactory state of things. It appeared that Fisher was in the habit of chartering his launches to Chinese for a fixed monthly sum, and as long as the payment of this was forthcoming he took no further interest in the launch, the charterers engaging crew, paying for coal, and repairs, and deciding on the movements of the vessel. In fact, the charterer, for a fixed payment, acquired not only full control, but secured exemption from the native fees by use of the foreign flag. Mr. Mansfield said that his first impulse was to discountenance altogether the chartering of British launches to Chinese, but on reflection it appeared to him that the launches would merely be transferred to persons of other nationalities less scrupulous, and that the foreign-registered launches acted as some check on the rapacity of the Chinese officials, who could not tax them as they did native craft. He thought that by adopting more stringent Regulations in dealing with launches the difficulty might probably be avoided. With this object he submitted an amended form of certificate of British registry, and a set of proposed local Regulations.
In reply, Sir J. Jordan was informed that it was recognized that the question was in a very unsatisfactory condition, but that Mr. Mansfield's proposals, which were not altogether in harmony with certain provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act of 1894, such as that stipulating for registration of British ships at Shanghae, would not rescue it from that condition. It was therefore proposed to refer the whole question to Sir Havilland de Sausmarez, the Judge of the Supreme Court at Shanghae, with a view to the drafting of Rules in harmony with the existing English law.
On the 22nd November, 1907, Sir J. Jordan telegraphed the substance of certain correspondence which he had with the Commander-in-chief on the China Station in regard to the prevention of piracy in Canton waters, which has been especially rampant recently,
As a result of an investigation held in view of a statement made by the Chinese Viceroy, it was ascertained that all the British-registered ships recently pirated, except the steam-ship "Sainam," were really owned by Chinese subjects;
* Colonial Office, September 29, 1906; Sir J. Jordan, No. 4, January 3; ditto, No. 106, March 4; to ditto, No. 200, May 15; Sir J. Jordan, No. 202 (Telegraphic), November 22; to ditto, No. 128 (Telegraphic), November 23, 1997; Sir J. Jordan, No. 2 (Telegraphic), January 3; to ditto, No. 3 (Telegraphic), January 6, 1908 (262); Sir J. Jordan, No. 552, November 24 (1044); ditto, No. 557, November 27, 1907 (1049); Sir H. de Sausmarez, January 20, 1908.
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