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Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Acting Consul Hewlett to Mr. Max Müller.
(Separate.)
Hankow, April 28, 1910. Sir,
I HAVE the honour to submit my report on the riots at Changsha, compiled from careful notes made as each event occurred, and as regards the conditions which led up to the riot, from the copies of my despatches to His Majesty's Legation filed at this consulate-general and noted in the margin.*
As early as the end of September last the treasurer, during a private call, informed me with great secrecy that "I should never get the deeds sealed as the members of the Political Association of Hunan had definitely declared that they would not permit the lease," and, further, "that any insistance on my part would cause serious trouble in Changsha" (see my despatch No. 26 of the 5th November, 1909).
In the Changsha magistrate's report on the question of the International Export Company's land purchase, communicated to me by the Customs taotai officially on the 30th October, 1909, he stated that "if the deeds are scaled before the balance is accepted, it will be difficult to guarantee that the result will not be a serious riot." In my despatch No. 26 of the 5th November, 1909, when reporting these facts, I felt constrained to declare that "the taotai, by consulting the wishes of the gentry, practically invited them to contest the sale, and, as his actions are similar in every political case, I am seriously of opinion that unless he is moved from his present post his pitiable weakness will cause friction of a very serious nature in the near future."
That a serious factor in the growing difficulty of the situation was the provincial "It assembly was reported by me in my despatch No. 2 of the 8th January, 1910. is safe to say that no right, not even the payment of an ordinary claim for debt in which foreigners are concerned, is sanctioned by the provincial authorities without the consent of the assembly. The governor, however, frequently resists them, and is consequently growing daily more unpopular; still, I do not find in his Excellency the abject terror that exists in the heart of Mr. Chu Yen-hsi, who openly maintains that the assembly must be consulted in all things. The general opinion is that as the demands of the assembly to be recognised in all matters increase, the power of the officials will decrease, and that serious trouble must inevitably be the result.
The attitude of the assembly towards questions relating to foreigners is actively and vigorously hostile, and it becomes daily more apparent that unless all privileges secured to foreigners under treaty by the opening of Changsha are to be surrendered, a critical situation will have to be faced."
The danger of the public utterances of the Political Association was also brought officially to the governor's notice, and reported in my despatch No. 4 of the 15th January.
On the 25th January, in my intelligence report for the December quarter, 1909, on pages 11 to 18, the position and its dangers were fully reported with the opinion (p. 16). "I feel bound, however, officially to record the fact that I consider that a very serious situation is arising at Changsha," and (p. 17) "there is, therefore, a serious danger that the day will come when the association will overstep the mark and when the officials will be powerless to withstand them, then we may hear the due enforcement of a simple treaty right called a hostile aggression, and see the signal for a rising given, the results of which no one can foretell. The treasurer and others have all told me quite frankly that they consider serious trouble is bound to come within two or three years, and I consider that the warning is genuine, and ought not to be entirely disregarded."
I trusted, however, that after the temporary excitement caused by the partition rumours of the winter matters would gradually mend, but that the condition was really serious was brought home to me when, in reply to a letter with reference to the attitude of the gentry on the question of the purchase of land in Changsha, in which I said: "If your Excellency permits these people who have the appearance of authority, but no responsibility (members of the assembly) to go throughout the province spreading perversions of the truth, I am utterly at a loss to say what the ultimate end will be," the governor merely replied that the assembly were all men of
*
No. 26 of November 5, 1909; No. 2 of January 8; No. 4 of January 15; and Separate despatch of January 25, 1910.
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high social standing and that he doubted my statements. Other things led me to think that the governor was tending toward the gentry, and I have always known that the Customs taotai and the Changsha magistrate were absolutely at their beck and call.
On the 5th March the masons brought me a petition demanding to build the new consulate. I sent the petition in original to the governor, and requested him to give instructions that trouble should be prevented. The matter was referred to the Changsha magistrate, who replied to the governor-a copy of the report being sent to me by the Customs taotai--that he could not explain matters to the masons, and that he was afraid "matters in which protection would be difficult" might arise, a state- ment to which I drew the governor's attention officially.
On the 31st March the masons came and demanded a definite answer to their petition. I had a long talk, but they would not listen to reason. I explained most carefully why we could not use their master masons-they are most hopelessly ignorant and utterly incapable as masons--and told them that we should use Hunan coolies and stone masons. They declared that this was unfriendly, as with Mr. Groves in Changsha he could teach them, and with the good plans we had they could learn step by step, and they consequently demanded to build the house. I refused their demand absolutely, explaining that the delay would be impossible; but, after assuring them of my genuine desire to see Ilunan advance on sound lines, I offered to give my card to ten men selected by them to watch the building from foundation to roof and afterwards to give them the plans so that they could remember what they had learnt, but they would have no compromise, and left, as I told my writer at once, bent on mischief.
On the 5th April came the letter which I had the honour to enclose in my despatch No. 19. That evening I gave one of the American teachers in the Yale Mission all my views on the situation, and asked him to be prepared for any trouble as I was convinced it was coming. The next day I asked my Japanese colleague to call. He sent his vice-consul, who, after hearing all the facts I possessed, said he considered the letter and my warning meaningless. I then saw the captains of the British steamers, and with them arranged day and night signals to stop their ships in case of trouble suddenly breaking out. This day the consulate rifles
arrived,
On the 7th April the masons threatened in writing to riot if I did not give way to their demands. I at once informed the governor, enclosing the original petitions and asking him to take precautions. Then I sent for the head of the Wesleyan mission, gave him all facts, and asked him to warn all sensible superintendents of Missions in Changsha, so as without creating a scare to put them on their guard. I further telegraphed to Mr. Fraser for advice as regarded the masons' threat.
On the 8th April I called on Mr. Kwok in the morning and gave him the fullest warning and received the most full assurance in reply. I was not at all at peace in my mind, and that afternoon called on General Yang of the Ch'ang Pei Hsin Chun, and talked the whole matter out with him frankly. He definitely promised to afford the fullest protection, and said he was prepared to use his troops, begging me to place full reliance in him.
On the 9th April I warned one of the agents of the British American Tobacco Company of trouble, and asked him privately to give the hint to any of his friends. In accordance with advice received from Mr. Fraser I also wrote a definite letter to the governor, asking whether in all circumstances he could afford protection, seeing that I did not intend to use the Hunan masons, and if he could not I should ask you to arrange for one of His Majesty's ships to be sent to Changsha. To this his Excellency replied at once, "I give you this letter as a positive proof that I recognise the duty of local authorities to afford protection, and that I can do so in any event whatever." The same evening, when a fire broke out in a house near the consulate, and threatened to involve the local temple, I assisted with the Government fire extincteur, and my neighbours seemed greatly to appreciate my aid.
On the 11th April I called on the Customs taotai and he told me that the governor had issued the strictest orders to avoid trouble, and that full protection could be assured. He said that trouble might come, but that the officials would not shirk their responsibilities, and added “in any case you need not be afraid.” I replied that I personally was not afraid, but that I had very genuine apprehensions for my many friends in the city, and begged most earnestly that special precautions should be taken to stop the trouble at once. I also told the taotai that I hoped it was a good sign that at meetings summoned by the masons to start riots only seventy had
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