No. 3.
(No. 117.) My Lord,
Sir C. MacDonald to the Marquess of Salisbury.—(Received July 25.)
0.0.
Peking, June 10, 1898. I HAVE the honour to inclose herewith to your Lordship copy of extracts from an Intelligence Report which I have received from Her Majesty's Consul at Samshui, showing the condition of affairs in that district of the West River.
16 AUC 30
I have, &c.
(Signed)
CLAUDE M. MacDONALD.
Inclosure in No. 3.
Extracts from Samshui Intelligence Report for Quarter ended April 30, 1898.
1. Piracy on the West River.
ON the 26th February rumours were current that a band of pirates contemplated making a raid on Jardine, Matheson, and Co.'s hulk anchored at Hokow. The compra- dore in charge reported the matter to me, and as he seemed somewhat alarmed, I communicated with the Magistrate, but nothing occurred.
Piratical attacks, both ashore and afloat, are of frequent, one might almost say of daily, occurrence along the river, and the officials seem incapable of coping with them.
As the Magistrate explained to me, he is unable to hunt out and capture the desperadoes himself, and therefore he has to employ others to do so, which means a large outlay every time a pirate is caught, and as the Government do not supply him with the necessary funds for the purpose, the pirates for the most part escape. Since he has been here, however, a period of about ten months, he has captured some sixty odd men, forty of whom were decapitated. This will show the disorderly state of the province, which has been aggravated, it is said, by the rice famine existing for some months past..
2. Criticism of the Central Government by Local Officials.
It is worth noting, perhaps, in passing, the freedom with which the local officials criticise, at the present moment, the high officials in Peking. It appears to me this out- spokenness is more common amongst them than I have ever known it before, and it may possibly be regarded as a sign of the times. What they say is, in effect, that the Emperor is surrounded by unscrupulous Ministers, who have not the welfare of the Empire at heart, and whose sole care is to derive what advantage they can from their position. The dynasty, they say, is exhausted, and they point to the fact that it has already been in existence for over two centuries and a-half, a period which history shows is the limit for any Reigning House in China.
3. Collection of Li-kin by Foreigners.
With regard to the placing of the admit it is quite possible to carry it out. officials will have no option but to obey.
collection of the hi-kin in foreign lands, they The Emperor has but to command, and the They do not consider that the change would
No. 4.
Viscount Gough to the Marquess of Salisbury.—(Received July 25.)
20
(No. 217.) My Lord,
Berlin, July 21, 1998. WITH reference to my despatch No. 213 of the 13th instant, I have the honour to state that according to the "Cologne Gazette" there is no doubt that the German Government intend to make Kiao-chau a free port, trusting mainly to their profits from the purchase and sale of land to cover the necessary expenditure.
The Government desired to make a declaration to this effect without delay, but it appeared from the negotiations with local merchants that the latter were in favour of deferring such declaration until the land question had been finally settled,
No. 5.
(Signed)
I have, &c.
GOUGH.
Question asked in the House of Commons, July 25, 1898.
Mr. Yerburgh, To ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether Her Majesty's Govern- ment were prepared to undertake the sole responsibility of guaranteeing a loan of 16,000,000% to the Chinese Government;
Whether there is any precedent for such a guarantee, and with what object it was to have been given;
And whether, if the Government were prepared to guarantee such loan, they will, in view of the vast importance to our trade in general, and to the trade of Lancashire in particular, of developing and opening up markets in the Yang-tsze region, guarantee such schemes of railway enterprise by British subjects in that region as they may be advised are requisite.
Answer by Mr. Balfour.
1 and 2. The papers presented to Parliament contain full information in regard to the offer made by Her Majesty's Government to advance the money required to pay off the indemnity due to Japan, and the objects with which that proposal was made.
3. The advance of a loan to the Chinese Government in return for advantages of a
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