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difficulty, by two small boats from H.M.S. "Moth," with two police and a foreigner in each.
Li Yao Han, presumed to be acting in Lung Chi Kuang's interest, is still in arms in the Tung Kun district; it is, however, not expected that he will give any trouble, and he will probably be placated with an official position of some kind. There is some idea of Wu Ting Fang being appointed Civil Governor, but in the meantime Wei Pang Ping is to officiate.
Early in October I received complaints from the Governor of Hong Kong, as well as the general officer commanding the troops, that the colony was not getting the necessary supplies of cattle and firewood from Wuchow owing to the interference with steamers, both British and Chinese, by the Kwang-si and Kwangtung military officials. Representations here having no effect, I despatched His Majesty's vice-consul to the West River with full discretion to make some arrangement by which the river traffic to llong Kong could be resumed. Mr. Sly's very full and interesting report on his mission, copy of which I enclose,* will inform you of the agreement he reached with the military authorities at Wuchow and Samshui; the system he inaugurated has worked, and still is working, very successfully, and he is, I think, entitled to great credit for a very excellent piece of work.
It is now fairly certain that H.M.S. "Robin was fired on in error owing to her ensign being invisible on a close day without any breeze; orders have now been given that the ensign is to be stretched out by bamboos, so that there may be no possible mistake in future. The United States gnuboat Pampanga" was fired ou not long ago, a little below Samshui, but this is probably accounted for by the fact that she was proceeding up river after dark.
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1 have now the pleasant duty of bringing to your notice valuable services and generous assistance rendered by officials and firms during the past two months.
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Commander Cloete of H.M.S.Tarantula," Senior Naval Officer on the West River, was at Canton during practically the whole of the trouble; he was responsible for the defence of Shameen and arranging for the patrol of the delta and East River. I am much indebted to him for his cordial co-operation and valuable assistance readily accorded at any hour of the day or night. Good service has been rendered by Lieutenant-Commander Johnstone of H.M.S."Moth," Lieutenant-Commander Hunt of and H.M.S. "Cicala," Lieutenant-Commander Manwaring of II.M.S. "Moorhen " Lieutenant-Commander Pearce of H.M.S." Robin in patrolling the West River and the delta, and in enforcing Mr. Sly's scheme for the protection of shipping between Hong Kong and Wuchow. I trust that the services rendered by these officers may be brought to the notice of the Lords of the Admiralty.
In connection with the West River patrol the following occurs in a letter addressed to me on the 21st October by Mr. Holworthy, who up to that time had been Commissioner of Customs at Wuchow:--
"I am writing a few lines to express my great appreciation and thanks for the successful efforts of the British consulate-general at Canton, in combination with the Admiralty, in raising the blockade of Wuchow. I would remark that
the action of Mr. Sly, vice-consal, has had the result of greatly enhancing British prestige in the province of Kwang-si; it had sunk very considerably during the last two years."
I would mention that as the French consul-general had neither men nor ships at his disposal we took over the defence of the French concession, and as this largely increased our responsibilities we asked the American naval authorities to assist us with a force if required. This the commander of the U.S.S." Helena" readily agreed to do, and on the only occasion on which British bluejackets had to land they were supported by a large force from the "Helena." Our best thanks are due to Commander Schoop of the "Helena," Commander Rhodes of the " Wilmington" and to Lieutenant-Commander Woods of the Pampanga."
*
The ludian detachment on Shameen carried out their duties admirably; there was no friction with the Chinese, and, so far as I am aware, not a single case of misconduct among them,
It is difficult to overestimate the value of the service rendered by Captain Wahl, a British language officer here. He speaks Cantonese fluently, and knew personally every officer of any rank; he was thus enabled to get into close touch with them and ascertain unofficially their views. He placed his time unreservedly at my disposal, aud I made very heavy demands on it; he frequently acted as interpreter for me with
• Not printed.
officials, who spoke little Mandarin, and during the whole time, and especially during the latter negotiations, acted as liaison officer between the two sides. I trust that his services may be brought to the notice of the proper military authorities.
1 can say
The Municipal Council supported me loyally in arranging for the defence of the concession, and their police carried out their difficult duties with great tact. without hesitation that the restrictions, which I found it necessary to impose, were carried out with a minimum of inconvenience to the commercial community.
I am much indebted to the Commissioner of Customs and several British firms for the loan of launches and motor-boats.
M. Segerdal, Commissioner of Customs at Samshui, rendered valuable assistance in helping Mr. Sly on both his visits to the West River, and his advice and co-operation have been especially valuable in drawing up and enforcing the arrangement for the West River traffic. He has also been very good in keeping me informed as to events in his district before there was a gunboat continually stationed. I trust that you will see your way to bringing his services to the notice of the Inspector-General.
Naturally, a great amount of extra work has been thrown on the staff of this ('onsulate-General, especially as I myself had frequently occasion to be away from the office. Mr. Sly, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Guthrie and Constable Read have carried out their duties to my complete satisfaction and readily responded to the heavy demands I was obliged to make on their spare time.
I am forwarding copies of this despatch to the Governor of Hong Kong as well as to the General Officer Commanding the Troops and the Commodore at Hong Kong.
I have, &c.
HERBERT GOFFE.
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