.
C.O.
2
400 roubles annually was now called upon to pay 2,000 roubles. I called upon a M. Etlinger, an Austrian engaged in the export trade, who told me that until recently nothing had been asked from him, but that he was now assessed at 1,000 roubles annually. This would represent at least 50 per cent, of the rateable value of the premises occupied by M. Eilinger.
M. Dard, who represents French interests, stated that the railway police had asked to inspect the books of Messrs. Sennet Frères, so as to arrive at a just assessment. This demand had been refused.
Both M. Dard and M. Kobr complained of the inconvenience caused by the delay in handing over foreigners arrested by the police to their own authorities.
The general impression I gathered from the conversations I held with my foreign colleagues and with Russian officials, both Consular and railway, was that the railway authorities were beginning to recognize that they were in almost an untenable position. They could not collect taxes from foreigners except through the medium of their Consuls, and the Consuls would not collect the taxes until the Municipal Regulations had received the approval of the proper authorities. Similarly with the Chinese, who, although they might privately be willing to pay, would not do so against the instructions of their own officials.
The policy of exclusion, I was led to believe, was dictated by the Finance Department in St. Petersburgh, the principal exponents of it in Harbin being General Afanassieff, who is in charge of the police, and is the official next in importance to General Horwath in the settlement, and M. Daniel, the Director of Chinese Affairs for the railway, which he conducts under instructions from the Finance Department without reference to the Consulate or, I presume, to the Russian Minister in Peking.
These arrangements have naturally led to friction between the railway and Consular authorities, more especially as the Consulate appears to have little or no control of the police.
General Horwath's appointment as Consul-General is said to have strengthened the Consulate as against the railway, but the General's position between the Finance Department and the Foreign Office must be one of great difficulty.
Both Prince Mestchorsky, the Vice-Consul, and M. Konovaloff, the Commissioner of Customs, have in private conversation given me to understand that there are a large body of Russiaus who are anxious that the railway should pursue a more liberal policy than hitherto, and that it is the hope of this party that the question of the status of the railway territory might be solved by the establishment of an international settlement. Such a settlement it was thought would tend to improve the financial prospects of the railway, whose losses last year-M. Dard is my authority-amounted approximately to 20,000,000 roubles.
I was unfortunately unable to arrange an official interview with General Horwath. I called on him on the afternoon of the 10th, and found him out. He sent M. Daniel to me that evening with a request that I would postpone my departure for a day, as he particularly wished to discuss the settlement question with me. It would have beeù impossible for me to stay over without causing great inconvenience to Mr. Tebbitt, and as General Horwath was on the point of visiting Peking, it did not seem so necessary to remain.
Two of General Horwath's secretaries, however, gave me to understand that the General was now inclined to favour an international scheme, a principle which M. Korostovetz was also prepared to advocate in Peking, and a railway official had already been sent to Shanghae to report on the Land Regulations in force there.
It is evidently thought locally that China would not accept such a solution; yet it seems to me a practical impossibility that Chinese authorities could administer a Russian town with 14,000 inhabitants, exclusive of 4,000 troops, and I am inclined to think that the principal Manchurian authorities, the Viceroy, his Excellency Mr. M. T. Liang, and Mr. Sze, the Harbin Tautai, all fully realize this difficulty. The two former have certainly expressed themselves to me in the sense that they would be glad to accept the principle of an international settlement at Harbin, and Mr. Fisher has told me that Mr. Sze is of the same opinion.
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government. 7226
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[16632]
No. 1.
RECO
Rea? 21 MAY 09
[May 3.]
359
SECTION 2.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey-(Received May 3.)
(No. 153.) Sir,
Peking, April 10, 1909. BY Article 1 of the Telegraph Convention of the 26th October, 1900, the Cable Companies undertook to use their influence with their Governments to obtain permission for the Chinese Telegraph Administration to re-erect the land lines between Taku and Peking and to reopen public telegraph offices at Tien-tsin and Peking on the condition that the Companies should have absolute control of the working of the above-mentioned land lines and of the telegraph stations at Taku, Tien-tsin, and Peking.
This Agreement was to continue in force until the foreign troops had beon with- drawn and the normal state of things had been restored in North China, after which the Peking and Tien-tsin stations were to be handed over to the Chinese Administration for their management.
About 1902, however, when the two stations were finally handed over to the Chinese it was verbally stipulated that they should remain in charge of foreign superintendents, but unfortunately no record of this understanding seems to have been preserved in the archives of any of the Legations.
In January last the services of the Danish Superintendent in charge of the Peking office were dispensed with on the termination of his Agreement and no steps having been taken to replace him, the doyen of the Diplomatic Body reminded the Wai-wu Pu of the understanding and expressed a hope that a foreign Superintendent would be appointed without delay. As a result, Mr. Henningsen, the Superintendent in charge of the Tien-tsin station, was transferred to Peking and intrusted with the control of both the Tien-tsin and Peking stations. This arrangement was naturally objected to by the foreign community at Tien-tsin and elicited a strong protest from the Chamber of Commerce at that port. A further note was therefore addressed to the Wai-wu Pu protesting against the amalgamation under one foreign Superintendent of the telegraph offices at Peking and Tien-tsin and insisting on the appointment of a permanent foreign Superintendent at each place. Effect was eventually given to this demand in practice, but as the correspondence (copies of which are inclosed*) will show, the Chinese Government have throughout maintained their right to complete liberty of action in the matter and have characterized the intervention of the foreign Representatives as unprecedented.
• Not printed.
[2265
Canan
-2]
I have, &c. (Signed)
J. N. JORDAN,
I have, &c.
(Signed)
R. WILLIS.