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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government 6664
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
RECO
[April 182 JUN 10)
(
CONFIDENTIAL.
[12958]
No. 1.
SECTION 1.
Acting Consul Rose to Sir Edward Grey-(Received April 16.)
(No. 3. Confidential.) Sir,
Tengyuch, March 12, 1910.
IN continuation of my despatch No. 1 of the 24th February on the subject of an armed raid across the north-east frontier of India, I have the honour to enclose duplicate of a despatch which I have to-day addressed to His Majesty's Minister at Peking, reporting that the Chinese authorities deny that Pien-ma is in British territory.
I have, &c.
ARCHIBALD ROSE.
(No. 7. Confidential.) Sir,
an
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Acting Consul Rose to Sir J. Jordan.
Tengyueh, March 12, 1910. IN continuation of my despatch No. 3 of the 24th February on the subject of armed raid by the Tengkeng sawbwa across the undelimited north-eastern frontier of India, I have the honour to enclose translation of a despatch which has been addressed to me to-day by the taotai, admitting that trouble has occurred in the neighbourhood of Tengkeng, but stating that Pien-ma (Hpimaw) is undoubtedly in Chinese territory, and that the affair therefore raises no international question.
At the request of the Lieutenant-Governor of Burmah, I have to-day telegraped to you requesting permission to proceed to Tengkeng in order to ascertain as far as possible the actual facts of the raid. Should you sanction this journey, I propose to travel entirely under Chinese auspices, requesting the taotai to furnish a small escort, and it will therefore be necessary to conduct all enquiries from the Chinese side of the Irrawady-Salween watershed, though this should create little difficulty, as Pien-ma lies but a few miles to the west of the Divide. With a small and lightly equipped party it should be possible to complete the journey in from twenty to thirty days, and, if the Chinese soldiers can be kept in order, I should anticipate neither trouble nor danger in the Salween Valley from the Lisus and Lashis, many of whom are personally
known to me.
I have, &c.
ARCHIBALD ROSE.
(Translation.) Sir,
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Liu Yuan-pi to Acting Consul Rose.
March 12, 1910 (H. T., 2nd of 2nd moon). I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch of the 24th February on the subject of a raid by the Tengkeng sawbwa.
I find that the five villages known as Pien-ma" (Hpimaw) and Cha-shan are undoubtedly in the district of the Pao-shan Hsien, that they were formerly the seat of a sawbwa, traces of whose residence are still clearly visible, and that there is no question of their being in Burmalı territory.
During the 9th moon of last year some lawless headmen in Tengkeng's jurisdiction had trouble with the sawbwa, and there was some fighting, but no houses were burned or property looted. The trouble, moreover, occurred in territory which belongs to China, there was no violation of the Burmah frontier, and the Pao-shan magistrate will of course be instructed to deal with the case. As you have written to me with regard to this affair, I send this despatch for your information.
Compliments and card of--
LIU YUAN-PI, Taotai.
[2729 q-1]