CO129-295 - Public Offices - 1899 — Page 665

50492-

ch272

272

661

3 November

Enclose in 10 letter of 3

Sir,

The Marquess of Salisbury to Sir Lo Fêng Luh.

Foreign Office, October 24, 1899.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the note which you addressed to me on the 17th instant, informing me of the instructions forwarded to you by the Tsung-li Yamên with regard to the British occupation of Sham Chun, and the question of the resumption by the Chinese authorities of control in the city of Kowloon.

I had already learnt with much satisfaction through Her Majesty's Chargé d'Affaires at Peking, that Tan Tzu-chêng, who is believed to have been chiefly responsible for the murder of Mr. Fleming in Kweichou, had at length been arrested, and I have the honour to inform you that I am in communication with Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonies in regard to the arrangements to be made for the retrocession to China of Sham Chun. For the reasons stated in my note of the 30th May, it is impossible for Her Majesty's Government to allow the resumption of jurisdiction by the Chinese authorities in Kowloon city.

I am, &c. (S).

SALISBURY.

136