PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
THETIC.O. 882
6
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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7872
64
No. 82.
FOREIGN OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received February 25, 1902.)
[Answered by No. 88.]
SIR,
Foreign Office, February 24, 1902. I LAID before the Marquess of Lansdowne your letter of the 18th instant,* trans- mitting a copy of a despatch from the Acting Commissioner at Wei-hai-wei, respect- ing the continuance of Chinese jurisdiction within the walled city of Wei-hai-wei.
Lord Lansdowne concurs in the proposed instructions to Mr. Lockhart, and, subject to any observations which the latter may have to offer, His Lordship sees no objection to an attempt being made to settle the question on the lines suggested by Major Cowan. A copy of a despatch from His Majesty's Minister at Peking, expressing the view that it would not be advisable to propose to the Chinese Government at this juncture the inclusion within British jurisdiction of the Chinese walled city is transmitted herewith.
His Lordship proposes to approve the course which Sir E. Satow suggests as regards the exercise of Chinese juri diction within the city.
I am, &c.,
(No. 457.) MY LORD,
Enclosure in No. 82.
FRANCIS BERTIE.
SIR E. SATOW to THE MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE.
Peking, December 11, 1901.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of Your Lordship's despatch, No. 196, of August 17th, containing instructions with regard to the Chinese walled city of Wei- hai-wei, which the Commissioner, General Dorward, had expressed a desire to have included within the limits of British jurisdiction.
As Your Lordship is aware, the original draft Convention for the settlement of affairs in Manchuria contained a stipulation that the walled town of Kinchou, which lies within the territory leased to Russia round Port Arthur, and jurisdiction in which was by the original agreement reserved to China, should be handed over to the Russian authorities. In the course of the negotiations between the late Viceroy, Li, and the Russian Minister, this demand was, however, abandoned, out of deference to Chinese susceptibilities.
The case of the town of Wei-hai-wei is precisely on all fours with that of Kinchou, and a proposal that jurisdiction within its walls should be handed over to Great Britain would be resisted strenuously by the Chinese Government, since, if they made this concession to us, they could not resist a similar demand on the part of Russia with regard to Kinchou.
I am, consequently, of opinion that it would not be expedient to make a proposal of this nature to the Chinese Government at the present juncture.
With regard to the alternative suggestion contained in Your Lordship's despatch, No. 220, of October 3rd, which was received at this Legation on November 22nd, I have the honour to state that when at Wei-hai-wei, on October 29th, I conferred with General Dorward on the subject of his original proposal, and was informed by him that at the present moment no practical inconvenience is felt from the continuance of the. existing arrangements.
From Mr. Barton, now attached to this Legation as Accountant and Archivist, I learn that shortly before he left Wei-hai-wei a letter had been written to the Wên Têng Magistrate complaining of the Sergeant, and that he has since received a private letter from him stating that the man has been withdrawn.
Under these circumstances, it seems to be unnecessary to make any representa- tions to the Chinese Government on the subject. If we hear that another Sergeant has been appointed, and that he gives trouble, I should, on being informed by the Com- missioner at Wei-hai-wei, at once either instruct His Majesty's Consul at Chefoo to take
5109 not printed
† No. 75.
85
the matter up with the Governor of the Province, or, if that appeared unlikely to lead to a good result, bring the matter strongly to the notice of the Central Government. I am disposed, however, to think that as long as the Wên Têng Magistrate continues to be as friendly to us as he now is any difficulties which may from time to time arise can be surmounted locally.
The
Marquess of Lansdowne, K.G.,
&c.,
&c.,
&c.
7293
No. 23.
I have, &c.,
ERNEST SATOW.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN to ACTING COMMISSIONER COWAN. [Answered by No. 102.]
(No. 5.)
SIR,
Downing Street, February 28, 1902. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Sir A. Dorward's despatches, No. 20, of the 19th November last,* forwarding a revised estimate of the revenue and expenditure of Wei-hai-wei for the year 1901-02; and No. 22, of the 21st of that month,t forwarding the Annual Estimate for 1902-03.
2. From the former of these despatches I learn that Sir A. Dorward anticipated a saving of $7,100 on the sanctioned expenditure for the current year; and that, on the other hand, the revenue for the year was expected to amount only to $18,700, the difference between this figure and the estimated revenue ($20,000) being made up from the surplus of $4,218 in hand on 1st April last.
3. The remainder of that surplus, viz., $2,918, is included by Sir A. Dorward in his estimate of revenue for 1902-03.
4. This estimate, including the balance referred to in the preceding paragraph,
is stated to be $22,918 in the latter of the despatches under acknowledgment; and
in the same despatch the expenditure for the year is estimated at $223,800, leaving an anticipated deficit of $202,882.
5. I carefully considered these estimates, and I came to the conclusion that the estimated deficit on the transactions of the year must be greatly reduced, as it was out of the question to propose to the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury a large increase in the Imperial grant-in-aid of the revenue of Wei-hai-wei.
6. I found that it was possible to reduce the deficit in several particulars. In the first place the estimate of revenue for 1902-03 may fairly be increased by the full amount of the anticipated saving of $7,100 on the current year.
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7. I note, in the next place, that provision has been made for the
payment in full of the salaries of the Assistant Commissioner ($5,000), and the Secretary and Financial Assistant ($1,800). You are aware, from my despatch, No. 2, of the 31st ultimo, that it was not my intention that the post of Secretary and Financial Assistant should be filled up until after Mr. Hare's departure, but that I am prepared to acquiesce in Mr. Walter's remaining at Wei-hai-wei, since he has actually proceeded to the dependency. There will be sufficient saving, owing to the lapsing to the Govern- ment of the undrawn half of the Commissioner's salary for the period of your acting administration, to enable any unlooked for expenditure on this head to be covered.
Moreover, after Mr. Hare's departure in August next, the post of Assistant Com- missioner will be abolished. I shall address you in a further despatch in regard to Mr. Walter's position.
8. On the other hand, the recent increase in the pay of the civil service of Hong Kong, the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States, has made it necessary to raise the pay of the Secretary and Financial Assistant. In writing to the Treasury, I stated that I anticipated that a saving of at least $1,950 might be expected on the\ salaries assigned to these three posts during 1902-03; and I see no reason to suppose that the actual saving will be at all less than this amount.
*9. The decision to appoint a civilian instead of a military officer as Commissioner
• No. 65.
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† No. 67.
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