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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.}
RECO
Ree? 24 JUN 09
[B]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA,
CONFIDENTIAL.
[20411]
No. 1.
[June 1.]
SECTION 5.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received June 1.)
(No. 10. Treaty.) Sir,
Peking, May 10, 1909. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despateb No. 11, Treaty, of the 3rd March last, informing me that the King had been graciously pleased to appoint me His Majesty's Special Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for the purpose of attending the funeral of His Majesty the late Emperor of China, and transmitting to me, to be delivered in the usual form, a letter which His Majesty had addressed to the Emperor of China accrediting me in that character.
The only two Powers which sent special missions for the occasion were Japan and Russia, the former of which was represented by Prince Fushimi, with a numerous suite, and the latter by General Palitzin, formerly chief of the general staff and a member of the council of the Empire.
France was represented by M. Gérard, the French Ambassador at Tôkiô, who was formerly Minister here, while Spain, Sweden, Portugal, Brazil, and Mexico also detached their Ministers at Tokió for special duty in Peking in connection with the funeral ceremonies.
Prince Fushimi was treated throughout as a personage altogether apart from the other special Ambassadors, and the Japanese took care-quite properly, in my opinion -to emphasise the importance of the mission and the rank of its head.
On the 26th April I had the honour, in company with the other special Ambassadors, to present my letter of credence to His Highness the Prince Regent, who received us in turn, and addressed to each of us a few words, stating his appreciation of the mission with which we had been charged.
On the 29th April visits of condolence were paid to the biers of the Empress- Dowager and of the Emperor, which were in pavilions some distance apart in the Imperial Palace, that of the Emperor being in the north part of the Palace, which has never before been open to foreigners.
I laid a silver wreath beside each of the biers in the name of His Majesty the King, and the Prince Regent suitably acknowledged the compliment.
In the afternoon of the same day Prince Fushirui held a reception of the foreign representatives and their staff's in his suite of apartments in the new Wai-wu Pu, and the formality of the ceremony gave rise to some comments on the part of some of the special Ambassadors, especially those who came from Japan, and had the honour of His Highness's acquaintance in Tokió.
The funeral procession took place on the 1st May, and lasted from 10-30 A.M. to 1 P.M., and was in some respects a rather trying ordeal, as the day was unusually hot for this season of the year. The members of the special missions walked in the procession as far as the northern gate of the Imperial city, a distance of about half-a- mile, which it took considerably over an hour to cover. They were accompanied by the high officers of State, amongst whom was the aged grand councillor, Chang Chih- tung, and by all the Princes of the Imperial Family.
The Prince Regent, as chief mourner, walked immediately in front of the bier, which was carried by eighty bearers. His Highness spoke to each of the special Ambassadors before the cortège started, and thanked them for their presence on the occasion. Stands were erected for the accommodation of foreign visitors, several hundreds of whom watched the procession, while the foreign troops in Peking had also places assigned to them from which to view the proceedings. From a spectacular point of view the funeral was a picturesque sight, but the details were unworthy of the occasion. Decorum was preserved so long as the procession was in the Imperial city, but it had scarcely emerged into the streets of the Tartar city before it became a disorganised and straggling crowd, and outside the city all pretence of solemnity was abandoned.
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