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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O. 882

5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

SIR,

(Translation.)

156

Enclosure 1 in No. 159.

Viceroy T'AN to Mr. Consul MANSFIELD.

April 10, 1899. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch, stating that the Governor of Hong Kong pr Chinese territory, but, on account of the friendship existing

to take over the new territory on April 17th. The Kowloon Kuan is between England and China, it has been leased to England. On April 2nd, when the Governor of Hong Kong came to Canton to see me, I firmly insisted that the Customs Stations could on no account be removed, to which the Governor of Hong Kong person- ally agreed. Just as he was leaving I again said that it was not necessary to allude to the question of the removal of the Customs. The Governor of Hong Kong also said that it was not necessary to mention this again, and that he had only to ask me to send soldiers to the place to restore order. I forthwith sent 600 men to take up their quarters at Kowloon, thus paying due regard to friendly relations.

Yesterday in a telegram (marked Yen) from the Tsung li Yamen it was stated that a despatch had been received from the British Minister to the effect that the Chinese Customs could not be allowed to remain within the new territory. Thus the agreement made between Wang Weiyuan and Mr. Lockhart and the statements of the Governor of Hong Kong made at the interview of April 2nd are insufficient as proof, and we will cease to discuss the proposition to take over the territory on the 17th.

I beg you to at once inform the Governor of Hong Kong that it will be needless for him to proceed to Kowloon on the 17th.

SIB,

(No. 22.)

I have, &c.,

(Seal of Viceroy.)

Enclosure 1A in No. 159.

Colonial Secretary's Office, Hong Kong, April 13, 1899. I AM directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, en- closing copy of a despatch addressed to you by the Viceroy on the subject of the removal of the Chinese Customs from the new territory leased to Great Britain by the Chinese Government.

His Excellency the Governor regrets to find that the Viceroy has so entirely mis- understood the repeated statements made to him on the subject at the interview between their respective Excellencies on the 2nd instant, as nothing could have been more distinct than the Governor's emphatic statement to the Viceroy that the Customs Stations could not be permitted to remain in the leased territory,

Under authority received from Her Majesty's Government, His Excellency the Governor has made arrangements to take over the administration of the leased territory on the 17th instant, and will hoist the British flag at 1 p.m. on that date at Tai Po Hui. His Excellency will, therefore, be glad if His Excellency the Viceroy will depute an officer of suitable rank to be present at the ceremony, as a mark of the cordial relations that exist between the two nations.

As the entire administration will be assumed by this Government on the 17th instant, the necessity for the presence of Chinese troops in the new territory will cease on that date, and their place will be taken by British troops and police.

The functions of all Chinese officials will, of course, cease at the same time, and no doubt arrangements will be made by the Viceroy for their withdrawal on the 17th instant.

In communicating the above to the Viceroy, I am to ask you to be good enough to again express to His Excellency an expression of the Governor's thanks for the prompti- tude with which His Excellency sent troops to maintain order in the new territory, pending His Excellency the Governor's assumption of the Government.

I have, &c.,

Her Britannic Majesty's Consul,

Canton.

J. H. STEWART Lockhart,

Colonial Secretary.

137

Enclosure 2 in No. 159.

TRANSLATION OF PETITION.

We gentry of the 39 villages of the Tat Tak Community of the Ping Shan District beg to present this humble petition, stating the cause of the recent trouble and begging for pardon.

Last month His Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong issued instructions for the erection of a police matshed in our district. At that time we had not received any proclamation from the British Government nor from the Chinese Government, so that through want of information we became suspicious and unsettled in mind. A few law- less rascals spread wild reports, which misled the villagers. They said that the Fung Shui of the district will be injuriously affected by the erection of a matshed, and that when the territory is taken over by the English Government a Sanitary Board will be created; that a poll tax will be levied; that licences will be required for keeping domestic animals; that our marriage customs and funeral ceremonies will be altered; that the cutting and gathering of firewood will be prohibited. The ignorant villagers believed this to be true, and the feeling of alarm became so general that the inhabitants of Kam Tin, Un Long, Ha Tsün, Shap Pat Héung, Castle Peak, and other villagers determined to make things difficult for the British officers.

We, your humble petitioners, were at first misled, but afterwards came forward to explain matters, and give good advice to the inhabitants. But they not only would not listen to us, but heaped much abuse on us, and forced us to take the lead. We knew that if, on the one hand, we complied we should offend against those in authority, while if, on the other, we refused compliance, we should be beaten to death by our fellow villagers. Being in such quandary, we were constrained to assent. received the proclamations issued by His Excellency the Governor and the Viceroy, and numerous letters from our friend in Hong Kong, Mr. Ng Sui Shang, in which he vigor. ously refuted the false reports which had been spread. Your petitioners then, at the risk of their lives, undeceived the people by telling them the facts of the case, and they became somewhat more settled.

Afterwards we

Your petitioners know that their offence is such that they ought not to escape punishment, but the clemency of the Government of Her Majesty the Queen is so great that we hope that a leniency which the law does not allow may be mercifully extended

to us.

Knowing that you, sir, are ever ready to act as peacemaker and are willing to endeavour to save people from extreme danger, we come forward to state the cause of the recent trouble, and beg you to transmit our petition to the Honourable Colonial Secretary, so that he may submit it to His Excellency the Governor. We humbly pray that His Excellency may be pleased to examine it, and mercifully grant us pardon, so that when we return to our villages we may use every exertion to remove the doubts of the people.

April 12, 1899.

To the Honourable Wei Yuk, for transmission to the Colonial Secretary and sub- mission to His Excellency the Governor.

(Translated by J. H. Stewart Lockhart.)

We,

Translation of Undertaking attached to Petition.

Tang Tsak Shin,

Tang Chan Un,

Tang Yuk Hing,

Tang Ping Wing,

through listening to false reports, were foolish enough to collect people to offer resist.. ance, but after receiving the kind proclamations issued by the British and Chinese Governments, we then became conscious of our error. We beg the Honourable We Yuk to transmit our petition to the Honourable Colonial Secretary, so that he may submit it to His Excellency the Governor, whom we pray may be pleased to examine it and mercifully pardon us. We undertake from this day henceforward to be law- abiding and loyal subjects, and if we again create any disturbance we will willingly surrender ourselves for punishment according to law.

(Here follow signatures.)

(Translated by J. H. Stewart Lockhart.)