CO129-314 - Public Offices - 1902 — Page 173

This cument is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's ment."

AFFARS OF CHINA.

ONFIDENTIAL.

No, 1.

172

[January 6.]

SECTION 2.

Sir E. Satow to the Marquess of Lansdowne.-(Received January

(No. 421.) My Lord,

1902.)

WITH reference to my despatch No. 370 of the 26th September, I have the

Peking, November 6, 1901, honour to inclose, for your Lordship's information, an extract from the Canton Intelli- gence Report for the September quarter on the subject of French proceedings in Kwangtung Province.

I have, &c. (In the absence of His Majesty's Minister),

REGINALD TOWER.

(Signed)

Inclosure in No. 1.

Extract from Canton Intelligence Report, September Quarter, 1901.

French Affairs.

THE college cstablished at the French Consulate Yamên has been opened. There are three Professors, who at present give instruction to fifty Chinese pupils for a fee of 2 dollars each.

A settlement has now been arrived at as a result of His Majesty's Consul- General's representations to the Commissioner of Customs of the question of anchorage for sea-going junks, the difficulties arising out of which were referred to in the last Report. In a despatch, dated the 23rd July, the Commissioner of Customs admitted that the Hoppo had, at the urgent instance of the French Consul, moved these junks from the front of the French Consulate, and that they had been berthed in section 2 of harbour, where they had no business to be. An arrangement, he added. had been come to whereby a limited number of these junks would continue to be berthed in their proper section, room being found for the remainder elsewhere. This is to some extent a compromise of the Regulations, which is, however, perfectly justified by the crowded state of the harbour. Shortly after the conclusion of the arrangement above referred to, the French Consul asked for a meeting of the Consular Body to consider changes in the Harbour Regulations, and, as a consequence, the following proposals were submitted by Mr. B. C. G. Scott in a despatch, dated the 3rd August, to the Com- missioner of Customs:---

Rule I, Part 3.-Native type sundry. cargo vessels trading to Hong Kong and Macao shall anchor in Section 4 and out- side the harbour limits.

(Section 4 practically coincides with that portion of the river opposite the French Concession.)

This to be repealed as far as it relates to Section 4. Section 4 to be added to the space for foreign shipping. The limits or to some other convenient posi- junks to be removed outside harbour

tion. Section 4 to be made also a portion. of the man-of-war anchorage.

The Commissioner has promised to give the matter his early attention.

In his demand to the Hoppo for the removal of the junks the French Consul appears to have acted in ignorance of the Regulations. Such ignorance, whatever else it may excuse, does not excuse the threat to employ the force of the French river gun-boats in removing them if the request were not granted. It is difficult to say to what extent M. Hardouin has the support of his Government in the energetic policy which he is pursuing. There seems no doubt that he has considerable funds at his

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