16
tion at Wei-hai-wei, as revised by the Law Officers of the Crown, and subsequently further amended in consultation with the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, by the addition of clause 82 (1), (2) and (3).
I am directed by His Lordship to say that he sees no objection to this amendment, and that he concurs in the terms of the draft Order in its present shape.
The copies of the draft Order in Council which accompanied your letter are returned as requested.
I am, &c.,
17
5. I am of opinion that these regulations meet the present requirements of the leased territory in its relations with the neighbouring Chinese officials, and accordingly I have the honour to recommend them for the sanction of His Majesty's Government.
I have, &c.,
A. R. F. DORWARD,
Major-General,
Commissioner.
|:
FRANCIS BERTIE.
23461
(Extract.) (No. 18.)
No. 27.
MR. CHAMBERLAIN to COMMISSIONER DORWARD.
Downing Street, July 12, 1901.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, No. 7, of the 17th April last,* forwarding an account of the revenue and expenditure of Wei-hai-wei for the first three months of 1901.
2. In view of the very satisfactory nature of this statement I saw no reason to object to your proposal that Mr. Barton should receive an allowance at the rate of £150 a year, with arrears from the date of his assumption of the duties of
your assistant; and on learning that the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury concurred in the proposal, I tele- graphed to you accordingly on the 6th instant.t
25475
SIR,
(No. 10.)
#
No. 28.
COMMISSIONER DORWARD to MR. CHAMBERLAIN.
(Received July 22, 1901.) [Answered by No. 44.]
Wei-hai-wei, June
1901.
I HAVE the honour to submit herewith, for your consideration, the draft of twelve Regulations, which have been provisionally Regulations. Commissioner to Governor, No. 17 of agreed upon by the Governor of Shantung and my-
19 April, 1901,
self in order to give due effect to the provisions of Governor to Commissioner, No. 19 of the Convention for the lease of Wei-hai-wei,
6 May, 1901,
whereby the territory comprised within the boundary is placed under the jurisdiction of British officials.
2. When the boundary was demarcated in May of last year, it was found that the line laid down divided the land of several villages, and in three instances the villages themselves. The Chinese Boundary Commissioners refused to agree to any deviation of the line so as to avoid the division of villages, and it consequently became necessary to frame regulations to govern the payment of land-tax on the divided ground.
3. Negotiations to this end were commenced in December last, when the land- tax was being collected for the first time by the British officials, and advantage was taken of this opportunity to frame certain other regulations regarding the extradition of criminals and other frontier matters.
4. The course of these negotiations is described in my despatch of April 19th to the Governor, copy of which I have the honour to enclose, together with a trans- lation of his reply, dated May 6th, in which he signifies his approval of the regulations drawn up.
• No. 22.
↑ Not printed.
Enclosure 1 in No. 28.
REGULATIONS.
I. All land in the districts of Wên-têng and Yung-ch'êng which is within the Leased Territory shall pay land-tax to the British Government.
11. All land in the district of Wên-tông and Yung-ch êng which is without the Leased Territory shall pay land-tax to the Chinese Government, as before.
III. In cases where persons residing within own land without the Territory, the lund-tax and miscellaneous sums payable on such land shall be collected by the British officials and handed over to the Chinese officials; and in the reverse case, the land-tax and all miscellaneous sums shall be collected by the Chinese officials and handed over to the British officials.
Both parties shall investigate and state clearly the exact sums to be collected and the total to be handed over by each to the other.
Neither party shall send runners over the frontier to demand payment or allow payment to be delayed.
IV. In cases where persons residing within own land without the Territory, the exact amount of land-tax and miscellaneous sums payable on such land shall be fixed by the Chinese officials in accordance with existing regulations; the Chinese officials shall request the British officials to instruct all such land-owners that they are to continue to pay land-tax according to the existing Chinese regulations, and vice versa. All owners of land, whether living within or without the Territory, no matter where their land is situated, shall pay land-tax in accordance with these regulations, and no deviation from the manner of payment herein laid down or delay in payment shall be permitted.
V. Should both parties agree that only the balance of the sums respectively due is to be handed over, then, in the case of land without the Territory owned by persons within, the Chinese officials will issue to the British officials a receipt setting forth the name of the land-owner and the amount in cash or silver payable by him on account of land-tax and miscellaneous charges, which the British officials will collect, and vice versa.
The total amounts thus collected will be set off one against the other and the balance only handed over.
No reduction shall be permitted, except in case of failure of crops. Corresponding reductions or increases of the amounts due shall be made in case of future transfers of land.
VI. In all cases where land situated without the Territory, but owned by persons within, or situated within the Territory, but owned by persons without, is to be sold, the parties concerned shall inform both the Chinese and British officials of the proposed sale, and on completion of the transfer the deed shall be stamped by the official of the district in which the land in question is situated.
Any omission to have the deed stamped shall render the sale null and void and the parties liable to a fine or confiscation of the land in question.
VII. Chinese resident within the Leased Territory shall continue to attend the periodical examinations for literary degrees at the district cities of Wen-têng and Yung-ch'êng, under the existing Chinese regulations.
The Chinese officials shall send copies of their Proclamations notifying the dates of such examinations to the British officials, who shall issue corresponding Proclama- tions in the Leased Territory.
On the completion of each examination the Chinese officials shall inform the British officials of the names of any residents of the Territory who may have obtained degrees.
9641
C
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
6
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TOPage 181
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
6 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
(Memo. hot sent.)
18
VIII. Whenever lawsuits arise between persons resident within the Territory and persons resident without, the cases shall be tried by the official of the defendant's district, and it shall be open to the official of the complainant's district to attend to watch the proceedings.
In case of appeal by either party, and on production of sufficient evidence, the case shall be retried by both officials, and the law to be administered shall be the law of the defendant's district.
IX. Serious cases, including those of murder and burglary, in which persons resident within and without the Territory are concerned, shall be tried by both British and ('hinese officials, and the convicts punished according to the law of their district. X. If offenders from within the Territory take refuge without the Territory, the Chinese officials, on due requisition being made to them by the British officials, shall do their utmost to arrest such offenders and hand them over to the British officials, and vice versâ,
Neither British nor Chinese officials shall, on their own authority, send runners across the frontier to make arrests.
XI. Whenever a person resident within the territory is arrested by the Chinese officials for any cause, the latter shall immediately inform the British officials of the fact, and vice versa.
XII. Any cases not provided for above shall be dealt with by mutual arrange- ment between the British and Chinese officials.
(No. 17.) SIR,
Enclosure 2 in No. 28.
COMMISSIONER, Wei-hai-wei, to GOVERNOR OF SHANTUNG.
April 19, 1901.. ON December 24, 1900, I received a despatch from the Chefoo Tuotai, in which he informed me that Your Excellency had instructed him to appoint deputies to confer with me on the regulations to be adopted regarding the frontier land-tax.
[Despatch quoted in full.]
The same day the deputy Chêng Yun-han and the Wên-têng and Yung-ch’êng Magistrates arrived at Wei-hai-wei, and informed me that the Chefoo Taotai had drafted five regulations regarding the settlement of the frontier land-tax, which he had instructed them to discuss with me.
I then appointed Messrs. Barton and Schaller to confer with the deputies, with the result that in addition to adopting the five regulations proposed by the Taotai, seven other regulations were drawn up and submitted by the deputies through the Taotai for Your Excellency's consideration.
On April 6th the Wên-têng and Yung-ch'êng Magistrates again visited Wei- hai-wei, and informed me that the proposed twelve regulations had been submitted by you to the Provincial Treasurer, Judge, and Foreign Affairs Bureau, who had suggested certain alterations in five of them, and that, in consequence of this, they had received instructions from you through the Taotai to confer with me again regarding the proposed alterations.
On the 8th instant, the Magistrates conferred with Messrs. Barton and Schaller and urged their reasons for the alterations, but having received Messrs. Barton and Schaller's report, I am of opinion that the regulations as originally drafted meet the requirements of the case, and that there is no necessity to modify them.
My reasons for this decision will be found in the enclosed memorandum of the twelve regulations, and I have the honour to request that you will authorize their acceptance in the original form, when, in the event of your agreeing, the regulations will be submitted to His Majesty's Government for confirmation.
I have, &c.,
SIR,
Enclosure 3 in No. 28.
A. R. F. DORWARD.
GOVERNOR OF SHANTUNG to COMMISSIONER, Wei-hai-wei.
(Translation. No. 19.)
May 6, 1901.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of Your Excellency's despatch of the 19th ultimo.
[Despatch quoted in full.]
10
With regard to these regulations I received yesterday from the Chefoo Taotai, Li Hsi-chieh, a report to the effect that he had appointed the Wên-têng Magistrate Chu, the Yung-ch'êng Magistrate Tseng, and the deputy Ch❜êng Yün-han to consult with deputies appointed by Your Excellency, viz., Messrs. Barton and Schaller, with the result that it was decided to recommend the adoption of the regulations in their original form, which had been carefully and duly drawn up, and which it was not advisable to alter. The Taotai had also satisfied himself, after careful investigation, that the facts of the case were really as stated.
In accordance with this report, I approve of the regulations in their original form, as requested by Your Excellency.
I have therefore issued the necessary instructions to the Provincial Treasurer and Judge, the Foreign Affairs Bureau and to the Chefoo Taotai, who will also instruct his subordinates; and I have now the honour to inform Your Excellency of my action and to request that you will give instructions for the adoption of these regulations to the advantage of our friendly relations and of international affairs.
I have, &c.,
25858
No. 29.
(Seal of Governor).
MEMORANDA by COMMANDER E. A. A. GAUNT, R.N. (Received July 25, 1901.)
Notes on Wei-hai-wei.
(A.)
His Majesty's Ship “Landrail" at Sea, July 19, 1901.
Submitted that the question of administering the island independently of the remainder of the territory might be reconsidered.
If the island were allowed to be administered by the senior naval or military officer, acting as a magistrate, subject to the authority of the Commissioner, his civil pay and all island civil works, such as scavenging, &c., could be paid out of the revenues of the island, if the rents, fines, &c., were allowed to be used for this purpose. The Commissioner would then live on the mainland, where his work principally lies, and he would be more in touch with the people of the leased territories.
2. For dealing with the natives on the mainland I would suggest the appoint- ment of an intelligent Chinese (one educated in England or America preferred) to the post of District Magistrate; such a man can be best obtained by the engagement of one of the Chinese naval officers trained under the late British Admiral Lang; he would speak and write English, be conversant with English ideas and customs, and, while knowing Chinese village judicial procedure, he would also know that acceptance of bribes is forbidden with us.
The Chinese Navy being practically finished, a good officer could be got for about £120 a year. I had applications from two or three for employment.
To keep a check on the proceedings of the magistrate it is necessary, either, that the Commissioner should know Chinese, in which case no assistant would be required, or the Commissioner should have under him an Englishman, who would watch the proceedings of the Chinese Magistrate, and also check official Chinese letters, pro- clamations, &c., written for the Commissioner: the youth who was appointed for this purpose during my tenure of the Commissionership was only a boy of nineteen, who had not received sufficient English education, and was paid the too large allowance of £220 a year, but a good clerk and interpreter could I think be got for this sum.
3. If the territory is thrown open to mining speculation, many people of doubtful reputation of all nations will assemble (I had to deport one and threaten others), and the Chinese staff will not be capable of dealing with them. I would suggest obtaining a mounted trooper from Victoria, or one of our gold mining Colonies, accustomed to lealing with large districts; such a man using Matou as his base and riding daily in different directions would keep the whole territory under supervision, and would be invaluable in dealing with any rowdy element.
9611