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No. 123.

GOVERNOR SIR H. A. BLAKE to MR. CHAMBERLAIN.

(Paraphrase.)

(Received 7.40 p.m., April 21, 1899.)

TELEGRAM.

Viceroy acknowledges that he sent 600 troops into new territory to preserve order, but he refused to hand district over and we found country occupied by hostile bodies fully armed and in military array. Such a force, regularly entrenched, and in position, fired upon the party we sent to Taipohu on 15th preparatory to the ceremony. Captured flag contains inscription "Train band sanctified by the Government of Taikai village." Such preparations as we found could not have been made without knowledge of local officials. Have locally arranged customs matter satisfactorily.

10214

S.

No. 124.

DIRECTOR OF MILITARY INTELLIGENCE to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received April 22, 1899.)

[Acknowledged May 2, 1899, 3rd person.]

Intelligence Division,

18, Queen Anne's Gate, S.W., April 21, 1899. The Director of Military Intelligence presents his compliments to the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, and has the honour to submit the following observations on the present situation at Hong Kong:

From the telegrams of the Governor to the Colonial Office, of the 15th and 16th instant, it would appear highly probable that the local Chinese authorities have instigated, or at least connived at, the opposition to our assumption of authority over the leased territory. If this should prove to be the case, Her Majesty's Government will no doubt desire to exact reparation from the Chinese Government of a nature which will bring home to the latter that such incidents cannot occur with impunity.

The mere infliction of personal punishment on the subordinates concerned will hardly effect this in a country constituted so peculiarly as China. Sir John Ardagh would therefore suggest for Mr. Chamberlain's consideration that one or more of the following demands should be made. The demands are stated in the relative order of importance which they are believed to possess.

1. That the northern boundary of the leased territory should be extended to the crest line of the hills to the north of Sham Chun. This extension is stated by Sir H. Blake, in his second telegram of the 16th instant,† to be absolutely necessary for the security of the district. The Governor adds that without such extension he anticipates grave trouble in the future. By the Convention of the 9th of June last, the present northern frontier of the leased territory is an artificial straight line drawn from Deep Bay to Mirs Bay, but it was agreed that the exact boundaries should be hereafter fixed, when proper surveys have been made. Mr. Stewart Lockhart, in his report of the 8th of October last, has already strongly urged, for administrative reasons, that the boundary should include the town of Sham Chun, and the Colonial Defence Committee, in their Memorandum No. 172 M. of the 19th of January last, concurred in this recommendation. The crest of the range of hills will probably moreover be found the most convenient natural frontier which can be fixed as the northern frontier of the leased area.

2. That the Chinese officials should evacuate the town of Kowloon. The administra- tive and other disadvantages of Chinese jurisdiction being exercised over a town at the back gate of Hong Kong have been repeatedly brought to notice, and were laid much stress on in paragraph 3 of the Colonial Defence Committee's Memorandum, No. 85 M., of

the 10th November 1896.

* No. 105, 106 and 107.

↑ No. 107.

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