CO129-295 - Public Offices - 1899 — Page 703

This Document is the Property of Her Britannic Majesty's Government.

CHINA TRADE.

CONFIDENTIAL.

FOR EASTERN DEPARTMENT.

PRINTED FOR THE USE OF THE COLONIAL OFFICE.

No. 1.

699

[November 16.]

SECTION 1.

Mr. Choate to the Marquess of Salisbury.-(Received November 16.)

My Lord,

American Embassy, London, November 15, 1899.

WITH reference to your note of the 14th ultimo, in regard to the Declaration which my Government desires to have made by foreign Powers having leased territory or spheres of interest in China, I have the honour to inform your Lordship that I have given careful thought to the considerations contained therein, and have submitted them to the Secretary of State.

I recognize the validity and propriety of your objection to including within such a Declaration the territory known as the Hong Kong Extension, which appears to have been practically incorporated with, and to be governed as a part of, the Crown Colony of Hong Kong; and I fully appreciate what a serious inconvenience would arise from different Customs Laws and Fiscal Regulations covering different parts of what is substantially one Colony.

With regard to your Lordship's suggestion that, in view of this difficulty as to the Hong Kong Extension, Her Majesty's Government consider that all mention of leased territory should be omitted from the proposed Declaration, and that the same should be confined to spheres of interest, I beg to suggest that an examination of the documents and papers relating to the holdings of the other Great Powers shows that they largely consist of territory leased for limited terms of years, and yet are not subject to the same objection which applies to the Hong Kong Extension, but rather are in the same category as Wei-hai Wei, which we agree may properly be embraced in the Declaration. It would therefore be unfortunate in this respect to omit all reference to leased territory in the Declaration proposed to be made by Her Majesty's Government, as it would naturally induce the other Powers to insist upon the same limitation, without the same reason which applies to the Hong Kong Extension, and so exclude such leased territory, which, like Wei-hai Wei, should naturally and properly be embraced in it.

I was at first inclined to propose that the Declaration should be made in the form proposed by my Government, with a special proviso that none of its clauses should be regarded as applying to the Hong Kong Extension; but the same objection would lie to that form. Other Powers would insist upon similar provisos, without the same reason.

One consideration of this matter in our interview of the 1st November leads me now to propose that the Declaration to be made by Her Majesty's Government should be so framed as to apply expressly to the territory of Wei-hai Wei, and to all future territory in China which may hereafter be acquired by Great Britain by lease or otherwise, and to all spheres of interest now held or hereafter to be held by her in China,

I shall be glad to hear that the form of Declaration now proposed will be agreeable to your Lordship.

I have advised my Government that you will desire to be informed of what the other Powers are willing to do in the premises before giving final consideration to the Declaration to be made by Her Majesty's Government.

I have, &c.

(Signed) JOSEPH H. CHOATE.

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