515
(This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majestys Government.]
SOUTH-WEST CHINA.
€
CONFIDENTIAL.
No. 1.
40066
IREC
October 5
SECTION 1.
Consul-General Wilkinson to the Marquess of Lansdowne.--(Received October 21.)
(No. 26.) My Lord,
Yunnan-fu, September 7, 1905. REFERRING to my despatch No. 19 of the 30th July last, I have the honour to inclose copy of a report to Sir E. Satow on the subject of the proposed inspection, by the new Acting Intendant of Southern Yüman, of "Scott's line," the unsettled portion of the Baruah-Yunnan frontier south of Kunlong Ferry.
I have, &c.
(Signed) W. H. WILKINSON.
Inclosure in No. 1.
Consul-General Wilkinson to Sir E. Satow.
(No. 35. Confidential.) Sir,
Yunnan-fu, September 6, 1905. IN consequence of the promotion of Ch'en Ts'an, the Grain Intendant, to be Judicial Commissioner of this province, his relative by marriage Hu Pi is obliged to vacate the post of Inan Tao, or Intendant of the southern circuit of Yunnan. Hu Taotai will be transferred to a circuit in Kunngsi; meanwhile he awaits at Pu-erh the arrival of Shih Hung-shao, Prefect of Yungch'ang, and until lately Acting Intendant of Western Yünnan.
Shih Taotai arrived at Yunnan-fu from T'engyueh with his family in the middle of August, and left alone for his new post on the 1st instant. During his stay here I had three interviews with him. He told me that he had been instructed by the Governor-General to report on the question of what it is convenient to describe as "Scott's line," the frontier, that is, between Burmah and Yunnan drawn by Mr. (now Sir George) Scott in 1900, from the Namsang to the Nalawi. His report would enable the Governor-General to reply in greater detail to the request made to his Excellency by the Wai-wn Pu in pursuance of their intimation to you conveyed in Prince Ching's communication of the 30th March last. He could not, however, proceed at once to the border, as those regions would still be malarious, but he proposed to journey thither during the Shuang-hsiang solar period (23rd October to 6th November)."
Taccordingly sent you on the 2nd instant a telegram reporting Shih's departure for his new post, and adding that he would personally inspect the unsettled frontier towards the end of October. The Governor-General would await Shih Taotai's report before replying further to the Wai-wu Po. A similar telegram was sent to the Government of Burmah,
On the evening of the 4th instant I had the honour to receive your reply, dated the 3rd. You presume that I have received through the Government of Burmah a copy of Prince Ch'ing's note of the 30th March. That note, you tell me, His Majesty's Government have decided to ignore, and the Indian Government will take such measures as are possible to prevent Chinese troops and officials from transgressing Scott's line. In conclusion, you explain the meaning of the words "provisional boundary" at the end of your communication of the 7th March last to the Chinese Government.
You should shortly be receiving my despatch No. 28 of the 29th July, in which I deduce, from a list furnished to me by the Governor-General, the fact that at two places at least on the west, or Burmah, side of Scott's line are posted at the present time Chinese troops.
When sending me the list, Ting Chihtai expressed a wish that I would procure for him a similar list of British military posts in the neighbourhood. As the location, at all events, of such posts cannot be secret, I applied to the Burmah Government for the required information, but I am not yet in possession of it.
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