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24.
No. 22.
Sir J. Walsham to the Marquis of Salisbury.—(Received May)
(No. 23. Confidential.) My Lord,
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ACUP
PREGO 9 JUN 87 325
Peking, March 29, 1887.
I HAVE the honour to forward herewith to your Lordship a copy of a confiden- tial Report drawn up by Mr. Bourne in connection with his recent journey in South- west China. The first part of Mr. Bourne's general Report on his journey was forwarded to the Earl of Rosebery in my No. 234 of the 22nd July last, and Parts II, III, IV, which are now being completed by Mr. Bourne, will be transmitted as soon as they are ready. The accompanying paper, which was drawn up under Mr. O'Conor's suggestion, contains the result of Mr. Bourne's observations as regards the feeling on the frontiers of the provinces of Yunnan and Kuei-chou with regard to the proceedings of the French in Touquin and those of our own troops in Burmah, and embraces matter which it was thought advisable not to include in a general Report.
I have, &c. (Signed) JOHN WALSHAM.
Inclosure in No. 22.
Confidential Report by Mr. Bourne in connection with his Journey in South-west China.
Tonquin.
THE proceedings of the French in Tonquin supply examples of all that should be avoided by a Western Power coming into frontier relations with China. The district embraced by the provinces of Yunnan and Kuei-chou has been under the direct rule of China for about 1,400 years; it is a mountainous plateau, if that expression may be allowed, with an average altitude of 5,000 feet, breaking abruptly away to the plains of the Irrawaddy, the Salween, the Mekhong, and the Sang-koi, so that there is no navigable water between the plateau and the plains. The only traffic is by caravan of traders who have never seen the sea, and who know of no Great Power in the world but China. I have talked to many of these men, merchants and drovers; the only Governments of which they have heard are the Ta-ch'ao (the great Court) i.e., China, and the Hsiao-ch'ao (small Courts), i.e., Burmalı, Tonquin, Chê-li, &c. The Chinese traders and coolies who leave the Eastern provinces in such numbers to settle on the coast of Indo-China have no more rapport with these people than the North American Indians have.
When, therefore, a Western Power comes above their horizon, these Yunnan- Chinese, Shans, Lolos, &c., have nothing but what goes on before their eyes to judge it by.
The impression which the French have produced on the people who inhabit these regions is as bad as it can well be, considering the object which the French presumably have in view, that is, the settlement of the country under their rule. They look on the French with a mingled feeling of dread and distrust, dread of their "huo-kung" (artillery and musketry practice), and distrust of their justice and good faith.
The General of the Lin-ngan Brigade, whom I saw at Mêng-tzu Hsien, gave it as his opinion that the Tonquinese were in wretched plight and much to be pitied (" tsao nich k'o lien"); "the French will kill them, of course," he said, "but you can't reduce a country to order by merely killing the inhabitants, and the people have no confidence in the French, and will not submit so long as they can help it.'
The Mông-tzu Magistrate said the same thing, alleging that the French treat the Tonquinese very badly in the matter of women, making them provide girls and change them every few days, a proceeding which, to say no worse of it, undermines the position by destroying confidence in the security of property under the new régime, for girls are usually sold in those parts.
In the matter of the delimitation of the frontier the French have damaged their credit with the Chinese officials by their childish want of forethought in rushing to
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