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PUBLIC RECORD

OFFICE

Reference -

TTIC.O. 882

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to take Sham Chun. I shall be glad to know from you whether in the event of Her Majesty's Government directing that Sham Chun valley to the hills be occupied you are prepared to hold it for the present with the force already at your disposal.

His Excellencv

SIR,

Major-General Gascoigne, C.M.G.,

&c., &c.,

&c.

Enclosure 2 in No. 288.

I have, &c.,

H. A. BLAKE.

Governor Sir H. A. BLAKE to Major-General GASCOIGNE.

7

Government House, May 15, 1899. WITH reference to your letter of this date, I have the honour to request that you will make what arrangements seem best to you for the occupation of the town of Sham Chun to-morrow and also of the walled city of Kowloon.

I am awaiting a telegram in answer to mine asking if I am to take Sham Chun only or to take also the valley to the summits of the hills. In either case you will proceed to occupy Sham Chun. Should the answer be that I am to take the valley, I will have time to inform you, probably before the expedition starts in the morning. In that event I shall take the valley and the line from the hills on Deep Bay, west of Shatao, to a point on Starling Inlet just to the east of Shataokok. You will have so large a force that I do not apprehend opposition, and my instructions are that bloodshed is to be avoided if possible. Should Chinese troops be found in occupation it will be sufficient to insure that they withdraw beyond the new frontier, but I do not desire to remove the Customs officers from their stations for the present, as I am anxious to assist the Im- perial Customs in preventing smuggling. Should your occupation be confined to the town of Sham Chun you will therefore, as soon as you decide upon the boundary (which will in that case be from a point north of Sham Chun to the fork of the Sham Chun river, south-east of Wangpailing) inform the Customs officials that they can collect their Customs at the boundary and give them every facility. It will be well to issue a proclamation to the people that they will not be interfered with, and their property will be respected and protected. When you have completed the occupation you will report the matter to me, when I shall issue instructions as to Civil Administration.

I have, &c.,

H. A. BLAKE.

379

Enclosure 4 in No. 288.

Governor Sir H. A. BLAKE to Major-General GASCOIGNE.

(Confidential.)

SIR,

Government House, July 10, 1899. I HAVE read the various reports from the Officer Commanding Troops at Sham. Chun with much interest. As the duration of our occupation of the valley is uncertain I think it advisable that you should know the exact position of affairs.

2. As you are aware from the telegrams shown to you, Her Majesty's Government has decided that the Chinese Government shall be called upon to pay an indemnity on account of the action of the Viceroy previous to the date of the hoisting of the flag, and pending the payment of the indemnity the Sham Chun valley is to continue to be held by us.

The valley is therefore at present in military occupation by Her Majesty's forces, and as our civil jurisdiction does not run, the district is practically under martial law. I need not point out to you the great importance of dealing with the people of the valley with prudence and moderation, for they have been so dealt with since our troops advanced into the valley. I would suggest that you instruct, the various village elders and gentry to resume their local jurisdiction under the control of the Officer Command- ing Troops, and make them responsible for the peace and good order of their villages. As armed robberies have occurred, the population should not be disarmed, as the result would be that the well-disposed would lose their means of defence and the bad characters would conceal their arms for illegitimate use. The junks and boats from Hong Kong should be searched for arms, as we have undertaken that no arms shall be exported to China, and in cases where arms are seized on board, the persons implicated should be handed over to the police at Foutiou, as the river is entirely in the leased territory. Of course disorder should be put down with a strong hand, but having regard to the fact that the valley may at any moment be restored to China, it will be well not to interfere in any way with the people pending further developments, further than is necessary for the preservation of law and order.

3. The cultivation of good relations with the people of Sham Chun valley and, if possible, the district to the north of it may have important and beneficial results in the

I have, &c.,

future.

His Excellency

Major-General Gascoigne, C.M.G.,

&c.,

&c.

&c.,

H. A. BLAKE.

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

5 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

Major-General Gascoigne, C.M.G.,

&c., &c., &c.

P.S.-The Customs officials found in Kowloon City will not be interfered with further than being disarmed.

SIR,

Enclosure 3 in No. 288.

Governor Sir H. A. BLAKE to Major-General Gascoigne.

Government House, May 15, 1899.

WITH reference to my letter of this date I am instructed by Her Majesty's Government to act as proposed in my telegram of the 11th instant, which was to the following effect:-That we should occupy Sham Chur, drawing line from the north of the town to a boundary at the fork of the river, south of Wangpailing.. This, with the occupation of Kowloon will therefore be the scope of the operations.

His Excellency

Major-General Gascoigne, C.M.G.,

&c., &c., &c.

I have, &o.,

H. A. BLAKE.

Enclosure 5 in No. 288.

From GENERAL OFFICER COMMANDING in China and Hong Kong to His Excellency the GOVERNOR OF HONG KONG.

SIR,

Hong Kong, November 13, 1899.

I have the honour to report that in accordance with instructions received from Your Excellency the Camp at Sheung Po, close to the town of Sham Chun, has this day been finally broken up, and the troops have all quitted the territory outside the leased zone.

I have quartered a force of the Hong Kong Regiment. not far distant, in our own territory with the object of preventing the appearance in the minds of the Chinese of our having been driven out, or of our having left Sheung Po otherwise than voluntarily, and I hope that thus disorders and risings will be rendered less likely: although it is difficult to say, seeing the peculiar disposition of the Chinese, that troubles will not arise as soon as our troops have left.

The Camp at Sheung Po has now been formed since the beginning of June, and during that time, as Your Excellency is aware, there has been practically no trouble, or certainly none of sufficient importance to implicate the Home Government. This result has been largely due to the tact and discretion exercised by the officer in com mand, Major Prendergast, R.E. I have before this brought this officer's name to the notice of Your Excellency, but now that the Camp is finally closed it is only right to call attention to the difficulties of the situation, as they were owing to our occupation of that part of the country being only temporary, and not permanent. When we first occupied the Sham Chun valley, and our occupation was looked upon as permanent by

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His Excellency

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