CO129-300 - Administrator Major Gen Gascoigne Governor Sir Blake - 1900 [7-9] — Page 218

Enclose to Confidential Despatch of

C. O.

28307

XX

27/7/00 216

29 AUG 00sulate General

Shanghai.

July 19th 1900.

Your Excellency

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt

of your telegram of to-day with reference to the

dispatch of troops to this place. In reply I

telegraphed that there is no need for troops at

present but that the necessity might arise later on.

In view of the spread of the Boxer movement & of

the danger that the visit of the Viceroy Li Hung

Chang here may do much to upset the agreement at

present existing with the Yangtse Viceroys, I

urged upon Her Majesty's Government the advisability

of having a force ready either at Hongkong or

Weihaiwei to leave for this port at short notice.

It seems very doubtful whether the Viceroys will be

able to keep the peace in their districts- witness

the riots in the Poyang lake districts & at

Hengchou in Hunan. Should the soldiers get out of

Sir H.A. Blake G.C.M.G.

hand

3.1.

8C

&C

800.