PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
6 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
(Confidential.)
136
Enclosure in No. 134.
('ONFERENCE held at the Foreign Office, October 9th, 1902, to report upon the following questions:-
(i) What force should be maintained in North China (including Wei-hai-Wei) and at Shanghai for the next two years?
(ii) What should be the constitution of this force?
(iii) Which department of the State is to be responsible for its Administration and for the provision of the funds needed?
PRESENT:
Lieutenant-Colonel Altham, representing the War Office.
Sir F. Bertie, representing the Foreign Office.
Mr. C. P. Lucas, representing the Colonial Office.
Mr. F. Whitmore Smith, representing the India Office.
Colonel Altham said that His Majesty's Minister at Peking had reported in his telegram of September 30th, that the present strength of the British forces in Chibli was as follows:-
Half Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers,
Royal Artillery
Two Indian Infantry Battalions
399
53 1,497
1,949
or in round numbers 2,000 fighting men; Sir E. Satow gave it as his opinion in the same telegram that this force would be necessary for two more years; and, as this opinion was shared by the General Officer Commanding, that number presum- ably must be taken as the strength which should be maintained.
Sir F. Bertie concurred, and stated that in Lord Lansdowne's opinion it was essential that of this force a half battalion should continue to be British troops.
Colonel Altham said that there were military objections to detaching per- manently a half battalion from Hong Kong for service in North China; such detachment not only tended to diminish the efficiency of the unit, but was also a serious deduction from the garrison of the naval base. For these reasons it might perhaps be considered preferable to allot a whole British battalion to North China, leaving the Hong Kong garrison intact. Sir F. Bertie replied that there would be no objection to this on the part of the Foreign Office. He presumed that if the other Powers were to make a reduction, we should, as proposed by Sir E. Satow, Concentrate at Wei-hai-Wei.
Colonel Altham said that this would probably be desirable, having regard to the number of troops which the Germans kept at Kiao-Chau and to the large French force at Tonquin, alluded to in His Majesty's Minister's telegram of September 30th. With regard to Wei-hai-Wei, Mr. Lucas said that it had, as Colonel Altham knew, been decided at a previous conference that a complete withdrawal of troops should take place, but that in view of opinions since expressed by Mr. Lockhart and General Dorward, the Colonial Office now considered that some garrison would be desirable. Sir F. Bertie again pointed out that it was suggested by Sir E. Satow that Wei-bai-Wei should be made use of as a depôt at which troops withdrawn from North China could be stationed in order that we might be prepared for emergencies. Mr. Lucas said that this would suit the Colonial Office.
Some discussion then took place as to the disposal of the Chinese Regiment, which is now at Wei-hai-Wei with a strength of 550 men, its disbandment having been temporarily suspended by the War Office. Mr. Lucas expressed himself in favour of the retention of the corps.
Colonel Altham enquired as to the possibility of employing it in Chihli; Sir F. Bertie expressed an emphatic opinion that this would be most undesirable from a political point of view, and would be certainly strongly objected to by the Chinese Government; it was true, he said, that the regiment had done good service in Chilli in 1900; that was, however, no argument in favour of its employment there now, as the Chinese Government did not at that time come into the question.
137
The question of the employment of the Chinese Regiment at such stations as Hong Kong, Singapore and Mauritius was mooted by Mr. Lucas, but it was agreed that this was outside the terms of reference of the Conference.
Mr. Lucas then said that the gist of the views held by the Colonial Office was : (i) That there should be some garrison at Wei-hai-Wei; (ii) That this garrison should not be wholly Chinese. He added that although he considered that it would be unwise to give up the Chinese Regiment altogether, yet as far as Wei-hai-Wei itself was concerned, the most advantageous course would be to place 200 white troops there.
Colonel Altham said that he supposed that if at a future date a complete evacuation of North China took place, Wei-hai-Wei might also be evacuated.
The Conference decided to submit for consideration the following alternative compositions of the force to be maintained in Chibli, including the Legation Guard :-
(A)
One Battalion British Infantry (nominally 1,000) actually Royal Artillery
Two Indian Infantry Battalions
Deduct 200 (British or Indian) for Wei-hai-Wei
Total North China garrison
700
53
Alterna- tive com- positions
1,500
of force.
2,253
200
2,053
This project contemplates the disbandment of the Chinese Regiment.
North China :-
(B)
Half Battalion British Infantry
Royal Artillery
Indian Infantry Battalions
Wei-hai-Wei :-
Four companies Chinese Regiment
400
53 1,500
1,953
400
In view of the fact that the negotiations as to the evacuation of Shanghai by Shanghai
the Powers are still pending, it is considered that the British force of one Indian Garrison. battalion now at Shanghai must be maintained there for the present.
Mr. Whitmore Smith said that it was the desire of the India Office to hand Responsi over all responsibility at the earliest possible date. Colonel Altham said that the bility for War Office was bearing the expense of maintenance, and unless the India Office mainten- were prepared in future to find the money, it was desirable that the War Office tinancial should have control.
ano and
adminis-
It is therefore recommended by the Conference that the War Office should be tration. responsible for the Administration and the provision of the funds needed.
9041
E. A. ALTHAM.
FRANCIS BERTIE.
C. P. LUCAS.
F. WHITMORE SMITH.
Page 240Page 241
PUBLIC
RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
INC.O. 882
............uuuuuu
6 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
51123
SIR,
(No. 60.)
138
No. 135.
COMMISSIONER LOCKHART to MR. CHAMBERLAIN.
(Received December 12, 1902.)
[Answered by No. 157.]
Government House, Port Edward, Weihaiwei, October 27, 1902.
I HAVE the honour to forward herewith the Estimates of Revenue and Expendi- ture for the year 1903-1904. For the purposes of the estimates the sterling value of the dollar has been taken at 2s.
2. The estimated revenue for 1903-1904 amounts to $31,715 as compared with the sum of $20,000, the estimate for 1902-1903. Particulars of the revenue are attached to the estimates. The actual revenue from the 1st of April of this year to the 30th September amounts to $1,327.30 and the estimated revenue for the remainder of the financial year is $17,000, making a total of $20,327.30 for the whole year, an increase of $8,327.30 on the estimate of revenue for 1902-1903. This increase is chiefly due to the rents derived from the property handed over to the Colonial Government by the military and naval authorities, which is also the reason for the increase in the estimate of revenue for 1903-1904.
The revenue to be collected during the second half of this financial year is considerably in excess of that collected during the first half, as the land revenue is paid towards the end of the year and as the property formerly belonging to the Admiralty was only transferred to this Government on the 1st of October.
3. The actual expenditure from the 1st April to the 30th September last amounts to $64,282.80 and the estimated expenditure from the 1st October to the 31st March
to $50,000, making a total expenditure for the financial year of $123,262.80.
4. On the 1st October the balance of the grant-in-aid of £12,000 remaining still undrawn amounted to £6,358 6s. 8d., which, taking the dollar at 1s. 8d., the rate for the present quarter, is equivalent to $76,300. The credit balance in the bank on the same date amounted to $6,000. Including the estimated revenue for the next six months, viz., $17,000 and deducting the estimated expenditure of $59,000, there remains a balance of $40,300 or say £4,000 to be carried forward as savings to the year 1903-1904. These savings are chiefly due to increased revenue, the low value of silver, and to the following works provided for in the estimates not having been undertaken:-
Government House
Dairy
$15,000 1,500
The latter building is not at present necessary, as private dairics have been established.
Par-
5. The expenditure for the year 1903-1904 is estimated at £16,000 4s. ticulars are given later on regarding the items which require explanation. The revenue being estimated at £3,170 and the anticipated saving being £4,000, making a total of £7,170, there remains a balance of £8,830 4s, or say £9,000 to be provided as a grant-in-aid from Imperial funds. Seeing that the grant-in-aid for 1901-1902 was £11,250 and for 1902-1903 £12,000, I trust the present proposed grant-in-aid maș not be regarded as excessive.
I now proceed to deal with the estimates of expenditure.
6.-COMMISSIONER'S ESTABLISHMENT.
The salary of the Commissioner has been inserted as £1,000. This is to make the salary of that officer the same as that of the Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements, and of Hong-Kong, under the scheme of sterling salaries now in force in thuse Colonies. It seems only reasonable that the Commissioner of this dependency should be paid at least as well as those officers, especially when it is remembered that the present Commissioner was transferred from the Colonial Secretaryship of Hong- Kong to the post he now holds. The Colonial Secretary of the Straits Settlements is also granted a house, and I think the same privilege should be accorded to the Commissioner. At present the Commissioner rents a house from the Government. This he might be allowed to occupy free of rent until a proper Government House is
139
erected. Such a building is required but there are other works of a more pressing nature and, as I am anxious to keep down the annual expenditure, it must wait until they have been completed.
Clerical Staff:-In the estimates for 1902-1903 provision was made for a Clerk of the Court at £150 and for a Financial Assistant at £180. Instead of the Clerk of the Court a Chinese Assistant has been found sufficient, and in place of a Financial Assistant a sum of £100 has been inserted for Clerical Assistance, which is now being kindly rendered by the Military Authorities,
Orderlies:-One office cooly only was provided for in last year's estimates. This has proved insufficient, so provision has been made for two orderlies at a rate of pay calculated to secure the services of men suitable for the Commissioner's establishment. Fuel Allowance:-This matter has been dealt with in my despatch No. 51, of the 1st September, 1902.*
Incidental Expenses:-This item appears in the estimates of the various depart- ments and is necessary to cover a variety of small and unforeseen expenditure, which it is not possible to detail.
7.-ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER'S ESTABLISHMENT.
Assistant Commissioner:-The salary has been fixed at £500 in accordance with the recommendation made by me in my despatch No. 32 of the 16th June, 1902.†
Clerical Staff:-It has been found necessary to raise the salary of the First Chinese Writer in order to obtain a reliable officer, whose position is one of great temptation.
Instead of temporary clerical assistance, increase of work has necessitated the engagement of a permanent third clerk at $250 a year.
Mafoos:-Although no special provision appears in last year's estimates for Mafoos to look after ponies, I found on my arrival that such men were employed, and
as they are necessary. I have made provision for them accordingly. The same remarks apply to the gardener and collector of dues.
8.-POLICE and Gaol.
Police:-No estimate for a Police Force appears in last year's estimates, though Sir A. Dorward separately drew up an estimate according to which he calculated that an outlay of £1,200 would be required to start the force and its annual upkeep would be about £1,400 a year. You accordingly stated in your despatch No. 5, of the 28th February last, paragraph 15, that a provision of $26,000 had been made on account of a Police Force.
Since I assumed office here I have addressed you on the subject of a Police Force (see despatch No. 29, 5th June, 1902),§ and pointed out that in my opinion the present system of policing the territory through Headmen is the most satisfactory.
The estimate for police is based on the assumption that the Headman system is
to be continued and that a garrison is to be stationed here.
The salary of £430 for an Intelligence Officer is the amount of pay now being drawn by Captain Johnson, of the Chinese Regiment, whom I have recommended for the appointment in my despatch No. 29, of the 5th June, 1902.§
Gaol: In the estimates for 1902-1903 gaol expenses are estimated at $1,000, but this estimate appears to have referred to the gaol on the mainland only, no provision having been made for the expenses of the gaol on the Island. I have inserted a sum of £100 to cover the expenses of the latter gaol, which is the reason for the increase under this head.
9. MEDICAL and SanitaRY.
Medical:-I have dealt fully with the Staff of the Medical Department in my despatch No. 46, of the 18th August last, and explained the expenditure which the carrying out of my recommendations will involve.
Sanitary:-Lighting and Scavenging. No separate item appears in last year's estimates for the cost of lighting and scavenging. Expenditure under this head on
+ No. 83.
f No. 102. Į 40429; not printed. 42937 : not printed. + No. 106.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.