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devoted himself unsparingly to the protection of the British interests committed to his care, and in his relations with the naval authorities, the foreign community and the Chinese officials he has upheld the best traditions of His Majesty's consular service in China,
(Copy to Tokyo and Commander-in-chief.)
I have, &c.
B. ALSTON.
P.S. Since writing the above I have received from the Commander-in-chief a despatch covering reports from the newly-arrived Senior Naval Officer in the Yang-tsze, Rear-Admiral Maclachlan, and from the commanders of the river gunboats who were present during the mutiny at Ichang, testifying to the courage, resourcefulness and devotion to luty of Mr. Smith,
It gives me great pleasure to be able to include a copy of Sir A. Duff's despatch in this report.
B. A.
Sir,
Enclosure 4 in No: 1.
Lieutenant-Commander Harrison to Rear-Admiral Maclachlan.--(Through
H.M.S. "Grat.")
H.M.S. "Teal," at Ichang, October 8, 1921. I HAVE the honour to forward the attached letter from Lieutenant-Commander A. G. B. Wilson, D.S.O., for very favourable consideration.
Although my acquaintance with Mr. J. L. Smith has been comparatively brief, I have already learnt to recognise his sterling qualities. His straightforward advice and sound judgment have been of the greatest value to me whenever I have been at Ichang.
I have, &c.
JULIAN HARRISON.
Your Excellency,
Enclosure 1 in No. 1.
Admiral Sir A. Duff to Sir B. Alston.
Commander-in-chief's Office, China Station, December 1, 1921.
I HAVE the honour to forward herewith, for your Excellency's information and any action you may think fit, the accompanying correspondence regarding the conduct of Mr. J. L. Smith, His Britannic Majesty's consul at Ichang,
I have, &c.
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
A. L. DUFF.
Sir,
Enclosure 5 in No. 1.
Lieutenant-Commander Wilson to Lieutenant-Commander Harrison.
H.M.S."Searah," at Ichang, October 8, 1921. I HAVE the honour to submit that, though aware of the fact that it is outside my authority to report on His Britannic Majesty's consuls, I would like to express officially, through you, my appreciation of the invaluable advice and assistance given me by Mr. J. L. Smithi, His Britannic Majesty's consul at Ichang, during the recent difficult situation created in this area by the Hupeh-Szechuan war, the 1st September to 8th October, He has throughout been fearless and untiring in his devotion to the interests, not only of the British, but of the entire foreign community, and has conducted all matters connected with the Service in a thoroughly loyal and admirable manner. I also share in the high respect felt by all foreigners here for his personal courage, shown on many an occasion, and I would submit that he has deserved some official recognition of his extremely efficient and zealous services.
I have, &c.
A. G. B. WILSON.
Rear-Admiral Maclachlan to Sir A. Duff.
H.M.S. "Bee," at Shanghai, October 25, 1921. THE attached letters are submitted with a view to the name of Mr. J. L. Smith, His Britannic Majesty's consul at Ichang, being brought to the notice of the proper authorities, should you think fit.
I do not yet know Mr. Smith personally, but it would appear that his conduct is worthy of recognition.
Sir,
C. MACLACHLAN,
Senior Naval Officer, Yang-tsze.
Enclosure 3 in No. 1.
Lieutenant-Commander Hastings to Rear-Admiral Maclachlan.
H.M.S."Gnat," at Kuikiang, October 18, 1921. WITH reference to the attached correspondence, 1 request the honour to add my appreciation of the assistance and the invaluable help given to me by Mr. J. L. Smith (His Majesty's consul, Ichang) both during and after the looting of that city in June last.
In the midst of chaotic uproar and of a mob of marauding, mutinous soldiery, his cool, sound judgment on the main issues of the situation never wavered.
In conclusion, I would like to express my admiration of his never-failing resource- fulness and of his personal courage shown during the looting, and to submit that his valuable services deserve some official recognition.
I have, &c.
COSMO HASTINGS.
(No. 29.)
Sir,
Enclosure 6 in No. 1.
Consul Smith to Sir B. Alston.
Ichang, July 18, 1921. IN my despatch No. 19 of the 10th June, I mentioned, in the last paragraph, that the outbreak of troops on the 4th of that month had led to a renewal of the agitation, reported in Ichang despatch No. 28 of the 27th December last, amongst native merchants for the establishment of a foreign settlement here.
On the 13th June three members of the gentry, Ch'en Chung ch'üan, Ma Shao wen and Huang Kung shen, who stated that they were representatives of the gentry, merchants and students of Ichang, called on me. They told me that a mass meeting was to be held the next day to discuss what steps could be taken to ensure sonie security for life and property in Ichang in the future; their idea was the establishment of au international settlement, to be run jointly by Chinese and foreigners on the lines of the "Chefoo International Committee," which deals with municipal affairs; they had called to ascertain my attitude to the proposal. Having in mind the instructions contained in your despatch No 4 of the 9th February, to extend to encouragement to the scheme, I answered generally that I should be glad to support, in principle, any reasonable I could not, project which would ensure greater security for life and property here. however, commit myself to supporting a scheme until full details of it had been communicated to me.
A notice, bearing the names of seventy-seven persons, amongst whom were many leading members of the gentry, merchants, compradores of foreign firms, &c., in Ichang, had been issued calling a public meeting; this proposed the establishment of municipal Goverument here on Chefoo lines and the organisation of an international corps of volunteers, of which Chinese would be members. The meeting at which there was a large attendance was duly held; the proposals were unanimously agreed to, and a committee of some seventy persons, divided into sub-committees to deal with different
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