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PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

PELLICO. 882

6

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO |

Officers:-

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Per night out $4 per day up to 10 days, after 10 days at rate of $1 per

day.

European non-commissioned officers :-

Per night out $3 per day up to 10 days, after 10 days at rate of 75.conts

'per day.

Native non-commissioned officers and privates:-

Per night out for every day away from Barracks 10 cents per day.

8. With regard to the policing of the Cantonment at Mahto I would suggest that existing arrangements as now in force be continued. Any attempt to use Civil Police as on the Island would, I believe, be a source of constant friction between the men of the Chinese Regiment and the Civil Police.

9. There is one objection to the above policing arrangements which is that, in the not unlikely event of most of the Chinese Regiment being ordered away from Wei- Hai-Wei a difficulty might arise in the matter of police work at a time when it was most urgently required. To meet any such difficulty I suggest that a scheme of some- thing of the following kind be worked out.

By some arrangement a local defence force of considerable value would gradually be created, and in addition the hand of the Officer Commanding, Chinese Regiment, would be very greatly strengthened in the matter of dealing with desertion.

Scheme.

(a.) The formation of a certain number of purely local companies, one per Batta- lion, who may not be ordered away from Wei-Hai-Wei, and which would be used as recruiting depôts.

(b.) After a certain period of service, with good conduct in the Chinese Regi- ment, about one year or over, men who had originally enlisted for 3 years should be allowed the option of joining these depôt companies on transfer on approval by the Officer Commanding, Chinese Regiment.

(c. It must be an unalterable agreement between the Secretary of State for War and the men of the depût companies that under no circumstances can these companies be ordered away without the men volunteer, or the whole value of the experiment is nil.

(d.) I regret that I have not the time at my disposal at present to arrange and for- ward the necessary details of the whole scheme for the General Officer Commanding and Military Commissioner's approval, but other minor points are, that the pay of the men of such depôt companies should be less than that of the men of the Chinese Regi- ment (active).* That when the Battalion was ordered away from Wei-Hai-Wei on service, men from the depôt companies should be allowed to volunteer for service with it. The organisation of the depôt companies should still be entirely military though they would as well as their ordinary duties undertake all the police work in the district. The provision of officers and European non-commissioned officers, could be arranged for by all these being specially appointed to the depôt companies for their first few months' service in China on appointment to the Chinese Regiment. They would thus have an excellent opportunity of learning the ways of the men and the customs of the country, without being at once called upon to accept the heavy responsibility they

now are.

Under Secretary of State,

War Office.

I have, &c.,

C. L. BRUCE, Major, Commanding 1st Chinese Regiment.

Forwarded. The existing system is working well, and in no way interferes with the military efficiency of the Regiment.

I agree with the Officer Commanding the Regiment that it is undesirable to set aside any special force from the Regiment for the purpose of carrying out police duties, and recommend the continuation of the present system until further experience has shown whether it will be advisable to adopt some other system affording a more com- plote measure of protection to the inhabitants of the leased territory.

27

The sum allowed in the Civil Estimates for police expenditure is more than suffi- cient to cover payments made for the performance of police duties to the Regiment on the scale mentioned in paragraph 7 of Major Bruce's letter.

A. R. F. DORWARD,

June 3, 1901.

25475

SIR,

No. 38.

Major-General, Commanding Troops, Wei-Hai-Wei.

COLONIAL OFFICE to FOREIGN OFFICE. [Answered by No. 43.]

Downing Street, August 12, 1901.

I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to transmit to you, for the con- sideration of the Marquess of Lansdowne, a copy of a despatch* from Major-General Dorward, Commissioner of Wei-hai-wei, enclosing copies of correspondence with the Governor of Shantung, on the subject of Draft Regulations intended to give effect to the provisions for the lease of Wei-hai-wei.

2. Mr. Chamberlain proposes to approve those Regulations, but to request Major- General Dorward to try to arrange with the Chinese Governor that in every case where a criminal has been given up to the Chinese Authorities, a British officer shall be present at the trial, to ensure that torture is not inflicted.

3. Sir A. Dorward will be instructed to explain to the Governor of Shantung that, as Lord Lansdowne was informed in the letter from this Department of the 26th ultimo,f a similar condition has been accepted by the Viceroy of Canton.

1 am, &c.,

27201

No. 39.

COLONIAL OFFICE to WAR OFFICE.

C. P. LUCAS.

SIR,

Downing Street, August 14, 1901. I AM directed by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant, in which he is informed that Mr. Secretary Brodrick, with the concurrence of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, has decided to revise the Military arrangements at Wei-hai-wei, and that, as one consequence of this, it is desirable that reconsideration should be given to the arrangement for police work on the mainland of that territory proposed in the letter from this Department of the 9th of October last.§

2. Mr. Chamberlain, without dissenting from the necessity of the proposer steps, would be glad of an opportunity of consulting Major-General Sir A. Dorward as to the best way of providing a civil police for the mainland, and also of consulting the Governor of Hong Kong as to the suitability of the Chinese Regiment for service in that Colony. He would, therefore, be glad if Mr. Secretary Brodrick would take no further steps as regards the Chinese Regiment until answers have been received from Wei--hai-wei and Hong Kong to the despatches which will at once be sent.

I am, &c.,

C. P. LUCAS.

27201

SIR,

No: 40.

MR. CHAMBERLAIN to GOVERNOR SIR H. A. BLAKE (HONG KONG). [Answered by 37678: not printed.] (Secret.)

Downing Street, August 16, 1901.

I HAVE the honour to forward for your consideration and report copy of a letter

received from the War Office, and of the reply || which I have caused to be addressed to

• No. 28.

t Not printed.

2041

No. 35. § No. 61 in Eastern No. 72.

| No. 39.

D 1