CO882-6 — Page 153

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

LC.O. 882

6

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

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In the same letter reference was made to the plan of constituting the island a separate municipality under a joint naval and military board, the recent arrangements with regard to Port Royal in Jamaica having been in Mr. Chamberlain's mind.

5. Sir Frank Swettenham, it will be seen, on reference to his report, recommends that the island shall be administered wholly apart from the mainland area and that it shall be [par. 14]" treated as an Indian cantonment, under a cantonment magistrate, who will be responsible for the entire administration," and who should be a naval officer.

As regards the mainland, he strongly recommends that it should be placed " under the administration of an experienced civil officer, who understands the Chinese lan- guage and people."

6. Mr. Unamberlain cannot decide on these recommendations without learning Lord Lansdowne's views and the views of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and without knowing whether or not it is contemplated that Colonel Dorward shall remain at Wei-Hai-Wei. If Colonel Dorward is to remain, there would seem [good] reason for disturbing the existing arrangements as little as possible; but if the post of Commissioner is likely to be vacant, the Secretary of State's views so far as he has formed them are as follows:-

7. He considers that military and naval considerations should be paramount, and that subject to such considerations the administration should, at the outset at any rate, be as inexpensive as possible, seeing that the prospects of obtaining substantial revenue are very slight, and the cost of the dependency will in the main fall upon the Imperial Exchequer.

Starting from this standpoint, he considers that it is for the Secretary of State for War and the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to express their views as to whether they consider that military and naval interests demand that a military or naval officer should be placed in administrative charge of Wei-Hai-Wei. If they are of that opinion, Mr. Chamberlain would suggest that the officer in question should control both the island and the mainland, that he should have as an assistant an experienced civil officer, and that if such an arrangement is at all feasible the Commissioner himself should act as cantonment magistrate, thus dispensing with the services of a second naval or military officer. If, on the other hand, it is conceded that a Civil Commissioner or Administrator may be appointed, a naval or military assistant would be required to act under him as cantonment magistrate or superintendent of the island.

In either case, however, it would seem undesirable and expensive wholly to separate the island from the mainland territory for administrative purposes, and if such revenues as accrue in the island are more than sufficient for the purposes of the can- tonment they might fairly be applied towards reducing the inevitable deficit on the budget of the general administration.

It is true that the island, being the property of the War Office and Admiralty. such funds as may be derived from it, on the unlikely assumption of their being more than enough to meet the island charges, would naturally be claimed for military or naval purposes, but as the whole question is one of Imperial expense, it appears to Mr. Chamberlain to be simpler and more likely to conduce to economy if the view which is now put forward, of treating the island and mainland as one for financial and other purposes, were adopted.

8. Among various points of detail with which it may be necessary to trouble the Marquess of Lansdowne, the most important seems to be the question of policing the new territory. It will be seen that Sir F. Swettenham (par. 20) considers that police work on the mainland should be entrusted to the Chinese Regiment about 200 of whom would be, he estimates, thus employed. On the island (par. 19) he considers that the very small staff at present discharging police duties might be still further reduced.

It is needless to say that if Lord Lansdowne considers that the Chinese Regiment may undertake such police duties in the leased territory as cannot be entrusted to the village councils and headmen, Mr. Chamberlain will gladly accept so economical a

scheme.

It may be noted that Colonel Dorward, in his despatch of the 7th of January last contemplated that the mainland territory will be policed by the Chinese Regiment.

9. In the 43rd paragraph of his report Sir F. Swettenham refers to the question of currency at Wei-Hai-Wei. In this connexion I am to ask that the enclosed copy of a letter from the Treasury, with enclosures respecting the proposed legalisation of

† No. 56.

• Enclosure in No. 20.

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the British dollar at Wei-Hai-Wei, may be referred for an expression of opinion by the Commissioner, who should be informed that the proposal is strongly supported by the Governor of Hong Kong. It will be seen that the Lords of the Treasury, while favour- ing the proposal, ask for a reasonable assurance that British dollars would be freely accepted

10. Colonel Dorward's despatch of the 13th of June, a copy of which is enclosed in your letter of the 31st of August, and which deals with the subject of roads and reservoirs in Wei-Hai-Wei, will be carefully considered in connection with what Sir F. Swettenham says on the same subject in paragraphs 31-35 of his report. Mr. Chamberlain recognises the good policy of outlay on useful public works, on which employment can profitably be given, but it is necessary to settle the outlines of the administration and to calculate ways and means before it can be decided how far Colonel Dorward's views can be carried out, and whether or not it is necessary to confine road making at first within the very narrow limits specified in the 35th para- graph of Sir Frank Swettenham's report.

11. Mr. Rhodes' letter to the Foreign Office of the 13th of August, a copy of which was enclosed in your letter of the 7th of September, † and which deals with the question of mining and prospecting rights in Wei-Hai-Wei and the adjoining terri- tory will be carefully considered in connection with the correspondence enclosed in your letter of the 7th of August. I

It seems possible that valuable minerals may be discovered on the mainland, and that herein lies the one chance of deriving an adequate revenue from the place. I am to enclose an extract, referring to exploring licences, from the mining regulations which have recently been issued in Ceylon. These provisions as to exploration for minerals seem very closely to meet the present requirements at Wei-Hai-Wei, and I am to ask that they may be forwarded for the consideration of the Commissioner, who should, however, issue no licences without further instructions.

upon

12. I am to ask for a reply to this letter at Lord Lansdowne's early convenience, and I am to invite such observations as His Lordship may think fit to make other points in Sir F. Swettenham's report than those which have been noticed above.

A copy of this letter has been forwarded to the Admiralty and to the Treasury.

I am, &c.,

C. P. LUCAS.

(Extract.)

Enclosure in No. 61.

Rules, Finally Approved by His Excellency the Governor, for the Grant of Licences to Explore and Prospect for Minerals and Mining Leases in Ceylon.

Exploring Licences.

1. A licence to explore Crown lands for minerals, called hereinafter an exploring licence, will authorise the licensee to search the surface of the land specified in the licence for minerals of every description, and, subject to such restrictions as the Gov- ernment Agent may from time to time impose, to remove any specimens or samples found by the licensee in or upon such land.

2. "Such licence' shall not authorise the licensee to enter upon any land in the occupation of any person without the consent of the occupier.

3. Such licence cannot be assigned, nor can any right or interest thereunder be transferred, without the assent of the Government Agent.

4. Such licence shall not authorise the licensee to mine or quarry, but he may turn up to such depth as the Government Agent may sanction and subject to such conditions as he may impose, the surface of unoccupied land, or with the consent of the occupier that of occupied land.

5. Such licence may be granted by the Government Agent and under such rules

as the Governor may prescribe.

6. Every such licence shall run for one year, but may be renewed for a further similar term by the Government Agent, and there shall be paid for each licence or a renewal such fee, not exceeding ten rupees, as the Governor may prescribe.

28810: not printed.

6355

† 29454: not printed.

I

‡ No. 54.

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