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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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6PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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station-inaster almost succeeded in deterring us from proceeding on our journey, but owing to the kind intervention of General Ch'ên the difficulties raised were

overcome.

It was with much regret that we left behind us those who had accompanied us from the capital, and who had contributed so greatly to the enjoyment and pleasure of our journey by their never-ending courtesy, untiring kindness, and ready

assistance.

We reached Weihsien at 8 a.m., and were at once escorted to the quarters of General Mei, where we were received with a salute and a guard of honour, and where we saw the British and Chinese flags flying together. General Mei welcomed us warmly, and having entertained us at breakfast, held a review of his troops in our honour. The troops were undoubtedly the smartest we had seen in Shantung. The men had been well drilled, and their precision on parade was remarkable.

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In the evening General Mei and the Weihsien Magistrate dined with us. The General showed us with great pride the gold watch and chain recently presented to him by the British Government. The watch bears the following inscription:-

Presented by Her Britannic Majesty's Government to General Mei Tung Yi in recognition of his having assisted a family of British subjects to escape from a position of great danger during the troubles in North China, 1900."

General Mei is pro-English and anti-German; and told us with great gusto Li Hung-Chang's description of foreigners :-

British.-Straight and peaceful.

French.-Happy so long as they have a good bottle of wine. Germans.-Brutes !

He frequently referred to the Great Gordon, under whom he served during the Taiping rebellion, and expressed a wish to send some of his officers to Wei-hai-wei to learn the British drill-a wish I strongly recommend should be gratified. There are already at Wei-hai-wei four Chinese officers who have been sent by Yuan Shih- Kai, Viceroy of Chihli, and who are now attached to the Chinese Regiment learning drill.

On Monday, the 25th of May, General Mei called to say good-bye and to escort us to the railway station with a bodyguard of his troops, the British flag being carried in front. On reaching the station we found a large body of soldiers drawn up with a band of buglers. The British flag was hoisted in front of our railway carriage and, after having said good-bye to General Mei, we set out on our journey for Kiaochou, two of the General's officers being sent to accompany us several miles

down the line.

On arriving at the third station from Weihsien we were met by Mr. Heinrich, the Traffic Superintendent of the Railway Company, who informed us that he had just come from Kiaochou with a private carriage, which he placed at our disposal.

At Kao Mi the Officer Commanding the German troops came to pay his respects, and informed us that he has under his command 150 mounted infantry, the first of their kind in the regular German army.

Kao Mi is in Chinese territory, so the presence of German troops there is some- what unusual.

At the railway station at Kiaochou we were visited by the German Officer in command of the troops and by the District Magistrate, who spoke English fluently, The city of Kiaochou is under Chinese jurisdiction, like that of Wei-hai-wei, but the territory outside the city is leased to Germany.

On arrival at Tsing tao, which is the seat of Government, corresponding to Port Edward at Wei-hai-wei, we were met by Captain Funke, Chief of the Staff, and Lieutenant Schumann, of the Artillery, who was placed at my disposal as A.D.C. during our stay at Kiaochou, and driven in the Governor's carriage to the hotel.

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Our visit to Kiaochou extended from the evening of Monday, the 25th of May, until Saturday, the 30th of May. We were treated most hospitably by Governor Truppel, who did everything in his power to make our stay a pleasant one. entertained us at dinner and lunch, when we met all the leading officials. We were also entertained by the Chief Justice, the Civil Commissioner, and by Mr. Hildebrand, the head of the Railway Company. We visited all the chief public institutions under the kind guidance of Lieutenant Schumann, and, having had ponies placed at our disposal, we were able to inspect the country.

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I attach au account of Tsing tao which appeared in the columns of the "North Enclosure China Daily News" on the 23rd April last.

8 (p. 29).

The estimated revenue and expenditure of Kiaochou for 1902, taken from the Diplomatic and Consular Reports, No. 2758, Annual Series, is annexed.

Enclosure

The population of Kiaochou is estimated at 80,000. The European resident population amounts to 700. The troops number 2,500.

9 (p. 32).

To administer the affairs of the territory, a civil service, which I was informed numbered more than 100 Germans, is employed, the personal emoluments of which alone amount to close on £27,000 a year, whilst in the estimates for 1902, under the head Civil Administration, there is an item of £13,171 for material, and an item of £89,781 for joint expenditure of civil and military administration. The cost of the civil administration is, therefore, as follows:-

Personal emoluments Material

Half joint expenditure of civil and military

Total

26,806

13,171

44,890

£84,867

The total estimated expenditure amounts to £626,400, the Imperial subsidy being £608,400.

It is interesting to compare with these figures the estimated expenditure of Wei-hai-wei for 1903-1904, which amounts to £16,000, the Imperial grant-in-aid being £9,000, especially when it is remembered that the population of Wei-hai-wei is 120,000, or 40,000 more than that of Kiaochou.

The Police Force at Kiaochou numbers 140-100 of whom are Chinese and 40 Germans and is under a German Superintendent. The Chinese Police formerly belonged to the regiment of natives which the German Government attempted to raise, but which has been abandoned. There are five Police Stations and a small detective force.

In Wei-hai-Wei there are three European Inspectors and a dozen Chinese Police.

In Kiaochou there is a large well-built gaol for Europeans and another gaol for Chinese. When we visited the latter, there were over 100 prisoners confined in it, and I was informed by the gaol authorities that crime of a serious nature is prevalent.

At no time in my experience of Wei-hai-wei have there been more than 20 prisoners in gaol at once, and crime of a serious nature is very rare.

At Kiaochou there are a Chief Justice and two or three Magistrates who all said they had plenty of work to occupy them.

At Wei-hai-wei there is no Chief Justice and only one Magistrate, who also discharges the duties of Secretary to Government.

The Governor has a Chief of the Staff and three A.D.Cs. and numerous heads of departments to assist him in the work of administration. In fact the official establishment at Kiaochou is almost as complete as that of Flong Kong, and the wonder on the part of the German residents is how all the officials can find enough work to justify their existence. Several of the German residents did not hesitate to express the opinion that many of the officials are superfluous and find it difficult to spend their time during their three years of office.

A curious arrangement exists regarding the Post Office, which is not in any way subject to the control of the local Government but acts under the instructions of an Imperial department at home. It is not surprising that this system results in general dissatisfaction among the community, many members of which complained about it. The Chief Justice sarcastically told me that the Post Office was some- times open by accident!

No attempt seems to have been made to organise a regular service of civil servants, the offices being at present filled by officers appointed from Germany for three years, who, as a rule, have never been abroad before. I met only one officer, who is discharging the duties of Magistrate, acquainted with the Chinese language and he was recruited from the ranks of the missionaries.

The present Governor is a Naval Officer and the Chief of the Staff is a Naval Captain. The administration is not, like that of other German Colonies, under the German Colonial Office, but under the Admiralty. Even the Civil Commissioner has an Admiralty title.