AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL
C. O.
36530
[October 10.]
kou.
- 21 OCT 04
SECTION 2,
590
No. 1.
Sir E. Satou to the Marquess of Lansdowne.--(Received October 10.)
Peking, August 13, 1904.
(No. 293.) My Lord,
IN continuation of my despatch No. 278 of the 2nd August I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship herewith a copy of a further despatch which I have received from the British Acting Consul at Wuchow on the subject of the disturbances in the province of Kuangsi.
I have, &c.
(Signed) ERNEST SATOW.
(No. 14.) Sir,
Inclosure in No. 1.
Acting Consul Fox to Sir E. Satow.
Wuchow, July 20, 1904.
REFERRING to my despatch No. 13 of the 20th instant, I have the honour to report that, in addition to the 500 men of the Wu Kang brigade who are now on their way to Kueilin, the following reinforcements have arrived from Canton and are being rapidly sent to the capital:
Five hundred men of the Hsi Tzu Ying (foreign drilled), commanded by Mo Shan Chi, Brigadier-General at Pakhoi.
Eight hundred men (two yings) of the Chang Pei Chun (partially foreign drilled), Hsiu Hsiang-kuei.
These troops will take about a fortnight to reach the capital, travelling from Chaoping overland.
Although the Viceroy, whom I interviewed on the 22nd instant, made light of the Liuchow affair, which he said would not have happened but for the criminal incompetence of the late Taotai Tsu, signs are not wanting that the case with which the capture of Liuchow was effected has encouraged the brigands in other parts to fresh efforts. Yung Ning-chow, which was sacked some ten days ago, is only 50 miles from Kueilin, and it is reported that the capital itself is threatened. The Governor, although on paper he is well provided with troops, is ill, and either incapable or unwilling to take the field. I was therefore not surprised to learn that the Viceroy had suddenly altered his intention of remaining here for the present and had left for Kueilin this morning. The reinforcements which will arrive there within the next few days and the news of the Viceroy's coming will insure the safety of the capital, and I have not, at the Viceroy's request, recalled three members of the Church Missionary Society residing there. The brigands will doubtless be driven back to their mountain fastnesses in Central Kuangsi, and comparative order will be restored for the time being. Recent events have, however, clearly shown that, in spite of the unusual efforts which the provincial Government, backed up by an energetic Viceroy, have made during the last twelve months to clear the province of its rebellious elements, its complete pacification is still far off; the rebels have been checked, but by no means destroyed. And as long as the bulk of the people in this country remain sunk in abject poverty and no attempt is made to relieve them by developing the province's natural resources, as long as an undisciplined rabble of underpaid soldiery are allowed to batten on the people--and it pays better to be a robber than an honest man--so long will the present deplorable state of affairs inevitably continue.
I have reported to you by telegraph the Viceroy's arrival and departure and the movements of the troops to date.
I have, &c.
(Signed) H. H. FOX
[2213 k-2]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL
C. O.
36530
[October 10.]
kou.
- 21 OCT 04
SHOTION 2,
590
No. 1.
Sir E. Satou to the Marquess of Lansdowne.--(Received October 10.)
Peking, August 13, 1904.
(No. 293.) My Lord,
IN continuation of my despatch No. 278 of the 2nd August I, have the honour to transmit to your Lordship herewith a copy of a further despatch which I have received from the British Acting Consul at Wuchow on the subject of the disturbances in the province of Kuangsi.
I have, &c.
ERNEST SATOW.
(Signed)
(No. 14.) Sir,
Inclosure in No. 1.
Acting Consul Fox to Sir E. Satow.
Wuchow, July 20, 1904. REFERRING to my despatch No. 13 of the 20th instant, I have the honour to report that, in addition to the 500 men of the Wu Kang brigade who are now on their way to Kueilin, the following reinforcements have arrived from Canton and are being rapidly sent to the capital:
Five hundred men of the Hsi Tzu Ying (foreign drilled), commanded by Mo Shan Chi, Brigadier-General at Pakhoi.
Eight hundred men (two yings) of the Chang Pei Chun (partially foreign drilled), Hsiu Hsiang-kuei.
These troops will take about a fortnight to reach the capital, travelling from Chaoping overland.
Although the Viceroy, whom I interviewed on the 22nd instant, made light of the Liuchow affair, which he said would not have happened but for the criminal incompetence of the late Taotai Tsu, signs are not wanting that the case with which the capture of Liuchow was effected has encouraged the brigands in other parts to fresh efforts. Yung Ning-chow, which was sacked some ten days ago, is only 50 miles from Kueilin, and it is reported that the capital itself is threatened. The Governor, although on paper he is well provided with troops, is ill, and either incapable or unwilling to take the field. I was therefore not surprised to learn that the Viceroy had suddenly altered his intention The of remaining here for the present and had left for Kueilin this morning. reinforcements which will arrive there within the next few days and the news of the Viceroy's coming will insure the safety of the capital, and I have not, at the Viceroy's request, recalled three members of the Church Missionary Society residing there. The brigands will doubtless be driven back to their mountain fastnesses in Central Kuangsi, and comparative order will be restored for the time being. Recent events have, however, clearly shown that, in spite of the unusual efforts which the provincial Government, backed up by an energetic Viceroy, have made during the last twelve months to clear the province of its rebellious elements, its complete pacification is still far off; the rebels have been checked, but by no means destroyed. And as long as the bulk of the people in this country remain sunk in abject poverty and no attempt is made to relieve them by developing the province's natural resources, as long as an undisciplined rabble of underpaid soldiery are allowed to batten on the people--and it pays better to be a robber than an honest mau-so long will the present deplorable state of affairs inevitably continue.
I have reported to you by telegraph the Viceroy's arrival and departure and the movements of the troops to date.
I have, &c. (Signed)
H. H. FOX
[2213 k-2}
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