[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
C 0.
315
[B]
44802
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
MECE
[November 17.]
CONFIDENTIAL.
Red 5 OFC 06
SECTION 2.
[38625]
No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received November 17.)
(No. 400. Confidential.) Sir,
Peking, November 4, 1906.
IN confirmation of my telegram No. 175 of the 26th ultimo, I have the honour to transmit to you, herewith, copy of a Circular which has been issued under instructions from the Shui Wa Ch'u, by the Inspector-General of Customs to the Commissioners and other Customs officials at the ports explaining the position which the Service will occupy under the new régime.
Sir Robert Hart, who has kindly furnished me with this document privately, and by whom it was drawn up in consultation with his Excellency Tang Shao-yi, considers its terms satisfactory, and I understand that it has already produced a reassuring effect upon the members of the Customs staff stationed in Peking.
The Inspector-General agreed, however, that its effect would be immensely enhanced by its publication, but deprecated any attempt to obtain that object unless it could be pressed to a successful issue, as failure would, he said, react very seriously upon the Customs Service.
As all the negotiations connected with the preparation and issue of the Circular had been conducted with Mr. Tang Shao-yi, I thought it would be only courteous to his Excellency to allow him an opportunity of giving the Circular publicity before carrying the matter to the Wai-wu Pu.
On the receipt, therefore, of the instructions contained in your telegram No. 166 of the 29th September, I sent the Chinese Secretary, Mr. Campbell, to see his Excellency and explain to him fully the reasons which rendered it imperative that the Circular should either be published in England or in China.
This Mr. Campbell did at great length, and with good effect.
I subsequently saw Mr. Tang myself, and gave him clearly to understand that His Majesty's Government would insist upon the authoritative publication of the Circular, and that if he failed to arrange for this being done within a reasonable time, I should be obliged to appeal to the Wai-wu Pu and Prince Ch'ing.
Mr. Tang, while admitting the reasonableness of the request, thought that the publication of the document at this moment would be construed as a concession to what he regarded as the unjustifiable agitation that had been carried on against his department in the British press and by the China Association in London; and he dwelt upon the difficulty, in the absence of any accredited official journal, of finding a way of making the Circular known to the public.
To communicate it to the British Legation alone would arouse the jealousy and suspicions of the powers, and if it was to be communicated officially at all, it would have to be sent to all the Legations.
I was inclined to deprecate the latter step, and pointed out that the correspondence on the subject had hitherto been conducted exclusively with this Legation, which, for obvious reasons, was far more interested in the question than any other.
The agitation in England was only an outward evidence of the grave anxiety which the recent change in the Customs Administration had caused there, and nothing could be better calculated to allay that feeling and restore confidence in the good faith of the Chinese Government than to give the present Circular the same publicity which the original Decree had received.
His Excellency promised to consider the matter with his colleague T'ieh Liang, and to let me have an answer at an early date.
This afternoon at the Wai-wu Pu he told me that he had been unable to see T'ieh, but he gave me a positive assurance, which he authorized me to telegraph to you, that the Circular would be published.
He asked for a few days to consider the most suitable method of publication, and I acceded to this request.
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. N. JORDAN,
[2226 r--)
2]
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
C 0.
315
[B]
44802
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
MECE
[November 17.]
CONFIDENTIAL.
Red 5 OFC 06
SHOTION 2.
[38625]
No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received November 17.)
(No. 400. Confidential.) Sir,
Peking, November 4, 1906. IN confirmation of my telegram No. 175 of the 26th ultimo, I have the honour to transmit to you, herewith, copy of a Circular which has been issued under instructions from the Shui Wa Ch'n, by the Inspector-General of Customs to the Commissioners and other Customs officials at the ports explaining the position which the Service will occupy under the new régime. Sir Robert Hart, who has kindly furnished me with this document privately, and by whom it was drawn up in consultation with his Excellency Tang Shoa-yi, considers its terms satisfactory, and I understand that it has already produced a reassuring effect upon the members of the Customs staff stationed in Peking. The Inspector-General agreed, however, that its effect would be immensely enhanced by its publication, but deprecated any attempt to obtain that object unless it could be pressed to a successful issue, as failure would, he said, react very seriously upon the Customs Service.
As all the negotiations connected with the preparation and issue of the Circular had been conducted with Mr. Tang Shoa-yi, I thought it would be only courteous to his Excellency to allow him an opportunity of giving the Circular publicity before carrying the matter to the Wai-wu Pu.
On the receipt, therefore, of the instructions contained in your telegram No. 166 of the 29th September, I sent the Chinese Secretary, Mr. Campbell, to see his Excellency and explain to him fully the reasons which rendered it imperative that the Circular sbould either be published in England or in China. This Mr. Campbell did at great length, and with good effect. I subsequently saw Mr. Tang myself, and gave him clearly to understand that His Majesty's Government would insist upon the authoritative publica- tion of the Circular, and that if he failed to arrange for this being done within a reason- able time, I should be obliged to appeal to the Wai-wu Pu and Prince Ch'ing.
Mr. Tang, while admitting the reasonableness of the request, thought that the publication of the document at this moment would be construed as a concession to what he regarded as the unjustifiable agitation that had becu carried on against his department in the British press and by the China Association in London; and he dwelt upon the difficulty, in the absence of any accredited official journal, of finding a way of making the Circular known to the public. To communicate it to the British Legation alone would arouse the jealousy and suspicions of the powers, and if it was to be communicated officially at all, it would have to be sent to all the Legations.
I was inclined to deprecate the latter step, and pointed out that the correspondence on the subject had hitherto been conducted exclusively with this Legation, which, for obvious reasons, was far more interested in the question than any other. The agitation in England was only an outward evidence of the grave anxiety which the recent change in the Customs Administration had caused there, and nothing could be better calculated to allay that feeling and restore confidence in the good faith of the Chinese Government than to give the present Circular the same publicity which the original Decree had received.
His Excellency promised to consider the matter with his colleague Tieh Liang, and to let me have an answer at an carly date.
This afternoon at the Wai-wu Pu he told me that he had been unable to see T'ieh, but he gave me a positive assurance, which he authorized me to telegraph to you, that the Circular would be published. He asked for a few days to consider the most suitable method of publication, and I acceded to this request.
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. N. JORDAN,
[2226 r--)
2]
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