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PUBLIC

RECORD OFFICE

། ། ། ། ། །

سلنا

Reference :--

C.O. 882

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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

(Rider, p. 28.)

&

Enclosure in No. 13.

82 (1) All the water area included within the lines hereinafter described shall be deemed to be Admiralty waters, and shall be solely under the control of the Naval Authorities, that is to say:-

A line from the eastern point of the Hu An Lok Rocks to Itau; thence in the direction of Flagstaff Point, until the eastern point of Weigall Cove bears north true"; thence to within a cable's length of the shore at that point; thence following the direction of the coast line and islands at a distance of one cable until Outer Island bears north by west; thence to Kwoa Pu, the northern point of Leu Kung Tau; thence along the shore of Leu Kung Tau to the westward and southward to the eastern point of the Hu An Lok Rocks.

•

(2) The Commissioner may, from time to time, by Ordinance, alter the limits of the Admiralty waters, and may make such provision as may seem proper for the exercise of the control of the Naval Authorities therein; provided that any such Ordinance shall not come into operation until it has been approved by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and allowed by the Secretary of State.

12841

No. 14.

COLONIAL OFFICE to ADMIRALTY.

[Answered by No. 15.]

SIR,

Downing Street, April 13, 1901. WITH reference to the letter from this Department of the 30th ultimo,* I am directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to forward, to be laid before the Lords Com- missioners of the Admiralty, a copy of a lettert from Mr. Albert Gray, enclosing the draft of a clause to be inserted in the draft Order in Council for the exercise of His Majesty's jurisdiction in the leased territory at Wei-hai-wei.

2. I am to enquire whether their Lordships agree that the clause submitted by

Mr. Gray sufficiently meets naval requirements in this matter

3. I am also to ask that you will move their Lordships to reply to this letter at their early convenience, as it is desired that the Order may be submitted to His Majesty in Council as soon as possible.

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No. 15.

I am, &c.,

C. P. LUCAS.

ADMIRALTY to COLONIAL OFFICE.

(Received May 1, 1901.) [Answered by No. 17.]

SIR,

Admiralty, April 30, 1901. My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty having had before them your letter of the 13th instant, No. 12841/01, forwarding the draft of a clause to be inserted in the draft Order in Council, for the exercise of His Majesty's jurisdiction in the leased territory at Wei-hai-Wei, desire me to request you will represent to Mr. Secretary · Chamberlain that the proposed clause does not, as it stands, meet naval requirements, and I am therefore to return the draft herewith, with the amendments which their Lordships propose should be made, marked on it in red ink,§ ́in which they trust that Mr. Chamberlain will concur.

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2. I am to add that their Lordships agree to the substitution of the word "control" for the word " jurisdiction" in the draft clause.

I am, &c.,

EVAN MACGREGOR.

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Enclosure in No. 15.

82. (1) All the water area included within the lines hereinafter described shall be deemed to be Admiralty waters and shall be solely under the control of the Naval Authorities, that is to say:-

;

A line from the Eastern Point of the Hu An Lok Rocks to Etau; thence in the direction of Flagstaff Point until the Eastern Point of Weigale! Cove bears North "true thence to within a cable's length of the shore at that point; thence following the direction of the coast line and islands at a distance of one cable until Outer Island bears North by West; thence to Kwoa Pu, the Northern point of Liu Kung Tau; thence along the shore of Liu Kung Tau to the Westward and Southward to the Eastern Point of the Hu An Lok Rocks.

(2) On the representation of the Naval C.-in-C. the Commissioner may shall from time to time by Ordinance alter the limits of the Admiralty waters, and-may-make-such provision we may coom-proper-for-the-exercise-of-The-control-of-the-naval-anthorities therein+ provided that any such Ordinance shall not come into operation until it has been approved by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty and allowed by the Secretary of State.

(3) The Naval Authorities will make such regulations as will permit of the use of Admiralty Waters by Mercantile Vessels, so far as is necessary.

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SIR,

No. 16.

WAR OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE.

(Received May 2, 1901.)

[Answered by Nos. 19 and 25.]

War Office, London, S.W., May 1, 1901. WITH reference to the letter from this Department of 4th December last,* en- closing a copy of a letter which Mr. Brodrick caused to be addressed to His Majesty's Commissioner at Wei-hai-Wei, regarding the proposal to make the British dollar legal tender at that station, I am now directed to transmit a copy of Major-General Dorward's reply to that communication.

The general question is, in Mr. Brodrick's opinion, rather one for the considera- tion of the Colonial Office, in consultation with the Treasury, than of this Department, but he would be glad to be kept informed of any steps which may be taken in the

matter.

It is, of course, of the utmost importance that the change should be effected in such a way as not injuriously to affect the troops, and before any change is made the Secretary of State would be glad to know whether it would be practicable to continue to pay the Chinese troops in Mexican dollars until the English and Mexican dollar are, for all purposes, of full equal value.

Copies of Major-General Dorward's despatch, and of this letter, are also being sent to the Treasury and Admiralty.

Enclosure in No. 16.

I have, &c.,

FRANK T. MÄRZIALS.

From the MILITARY COMMISSIONER, Wei-Hai-Wei, to the UNDER-SECRETAry of State,

SIR,

War Office, London, S.W.

Wei-Hai-Wei, February 12, 1901.

IN acknowledging the receipt of your letter, 083/12/77, of the 28th November, 1900, I have the honor to report as follows:-

1. The British dollar is not, here, worth the same amount of cash as the old Mexican dollar, and cash with the men of the Chinese Regiment, in common with the Chinese population of Shantung, is practically the only coin in current use. Roughly speaking, in cash, nine old Mexican dollars are equal to ten British dollars.

This local difference in exchange is mainly due to the fact that the British dollar is not current at Chefoo, to which port most of the dollars in circulation here eventually find their way.

2. The old Mexican, new Mexican and British dollar could not be received and issued by the local Agents of Banks without distinction and on a par, as their values

• No. 11.

↑ No. 13.

‡ No. 14.

{ Obliterated type and italic.

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differ so much in favour of the old Mexican, and the latter always commands a premium even over the new Mexican in the Shanghai market, where the natives decline to have anything to do with any other dollar than a clean Mexican old issue, which is, therefore, forced to a fancy price in times of scarcity. Any attempt to equalize their value here would result in the old Mexican dollars being shipped off to Shanghai for realization. As the old Mexican dollar is no longer coined by the Mexican Mint, there is bound to be a scarcity of the coin in the future.

3. The introduction of the Hong-Kong [ British] dollar as legal tender in Wei-Hai-Wei would result in a temporary rise of 3 per cent. or 4 per cent. in the price of commodities and of labour, and the soldiers and other British employees of the Government would accordingly suffer to this extent. It would not, at first, be popular with the Chinese, but if persevered with, would finally be established.

4. It will be advisable to give at least three months' notice of any intention to constitute the British dollar legal tender. The Banks will require some notice, and the Navy will be obliged to alter all their arrangements for the supply of money for ships coming north of Hong-Kong. The " China Squadron "pays in British dollars at Singa- pore and Hong-Kong, and, of course, it will be a great convenience to it to always use that dollar.

5. To avoid loss in the introduction of the British dollar, I am of opinion that the Government should make all payments in that dollar, and encourage, as much as possible, all payments being made to it in that dollar. I believe the effect of so doing would be to gradually appreciate the value of the British dollar and drive out the Mexican dollar locally. The extent to which this appreciation would take place would greatly depend on the way the British dollar was accepted at Chefoo. If the Banks and Customs there would accept it, it would soon become of equal value with the Mexican dollar.

6. It has, for two years, been the custom to pay the Chinese Regiment in the old Mexican dollar, and the men have now grown to look upon payment in that coin as a right; they would undoubtedly consider it a breach of trust were they paid in British dollars of inferior cash value to the Mexican.

7. In order to ensure the successful introduction of the British dollar, it is essen- tial that it should be freely accepted on a par with the Mexican dollar in Wei-Hai-Wei city, which is Chinese territory. I am ín correspondence with the Governor of the province on this subject.

8. In conclusion, I have the honor to state that I am strongly in favour of the introduction of the British dollar as legal tender in Wei-Hai-Wei, and would therefore propose, if the consent of the Chinese Governor regarding the city is obtained-

(i.) That a proclamation be issued giving three months' notice of the date of introduction of the British dollar as legal tender, and notifying all native merchants that this dollar must thenceforth be accepted at the same rate of cash as the old Mexican.

(ii.) That all Government payments be made in British dollars. (iii.) That an arrangement be made by His Majesty's Government with the Hong-Kong and Shanghai Bank, whereby their Wei-Hai-Weî agency would exchange British dollars for Mexican on fair terms, until all the Mexican dollars now in the territory have been weeded out. (See Sir F. Swetten- ham's letter to Colonial Office of 9th October, 1900.)

I have, &c.,

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2. I am to ask you to represent to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty that instructions will be given to the Commissioner at Wei-hai-Wei, to the effect that he is to carry out the wishes of the Naval Officer Commanding-in-Chief in this matter, and the Commissioner will, of course, do so. The words, however, which their Lordships propose to insert in the draft clause 82, seem unusual, and are hardly con- sistent with the powers and position assigned to the Commissioner by the Order in Council. Moreover, Mr. Chamberlain cannot consider that they are necessary.

3. I am further to point out that the expression "naval authorities," which is used in the proposed new sub-article (3), is not defined in the draft Order in Council, and is not altogether free from ambiguity.

4. If their Lordships object to the regulations contemplated in this sub-section being made by the Commissioner, who would, of course, act on the advice of the Admiral or other senior naval officer present, I am to suggest that it would be desirable to designate some officer by name.

5. Mr. Chamberlain trusts, however, that their Lordships, on further considera- tion and in the light of the above explanations, will agree with him that the draft clause forwarded in the letter of the 13th ultimo, fully provides for all probable contingencies.

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SIR,

No. 18.

COLONIAL OFFICE to TREASURY.

[Answered by No. 21.]

am, &c.,

C. P. LUCAS.

Downing Street, May 9, 1901. I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to request you to inform the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury that he has received from the War Office a letter,† copy of which is understood to have been sent to the Treasury, forwarding a despatch from Major-General Dorward regarding the proposal to make the British dollar legal tender at Wei-Hai-Wei.

2. Mr. Chamberlain proposes, with their Lordships' concurrence, to instruct Major-General Dorward to issue a Proclamation stating that after a period of three months from the date of that Proclamation the Mexican and British dollars will become legal tender on the same terms. A draft of the proposed Proclamation will be submitted to their Lordships for their concurrence.

3. Mr. Chamberlain proposes to add that the Government must use its discretion as to which dollar is to be adopted on any occasion for making payments to the troops or to any other party; but that no special preference should be shown for the British dollar.

15306

No. 19.

I am, &c.,

C. P. LUCAS.

15113

A. R. F. DORWARD,

Major-General,

Commissioner, Wei-Hai-Wei.

SIR,

No. 17.

COLONIAL OFFICE to ADMIRALTY. [Answered by No. 20.]

SIR,

your

Downing Street, May 4, 1901. I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to acknowledge the receipt of letter of the 30th ultimo, proposing certain amendments in the draft clause numbered 82 in the draft Wei-hai-Wei Order in Council, forwarded in the letter from this Department of the 13th ultimo.t

• No. 15.

↑ No. 14.

COLONIAL OFFICE to WAR OFFICE.

Downing Street, May 9, 1901.

In reply to your letter of the 1st instant, regarding the proposal to make the British dollar legal tender at Wei-Hai-Wei, I am directed by Mr. Secretary Chamber- lain to transmit to you, to be laid before Mr. Secretary Brodrick, a copy of a letter which has been addressed to the Treasury upon this subject.

2. As regards the point raised in the third paragraph of your letter under reply, I am to ask you to call Mr. Brodrick's attention to the last paragraph of the enclosed letter.

I am, &c.,

C. P. LUCAS.

• No. 14.

† No. 16.

‡ No. 18.

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