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Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Mr. Carnegie to Prince Ch'ing. Your Highness,
Peking, August 6, 1906. IT has been brought to my notice by His Majesty's Consul-General at Shanghae that the Taotai at that port, when writing to the doyen of the Consular Body on the 4th May, stated that the renting of land by foreigners in the Paoshan district had been originally permitted by the Superintendent of Southern Trade as a special favour, and not as a Treaty right; and that the Superintendent of Southern Trade had now deputed the Taotai Hsu Nai Ping to proceed to Shanghae for the purpose of making arrangements for the establishment of a Chinese Commercial Settlement and municipality at Chapei.
I have the honour to point out, for the information of your Highness' Board, that much land in the district referred to has been rented by foreigners, who acquired it in the ordinary manner as a Treaty right; and I cannot refrain from expressing surprise at the Taotal's contention that this has been permitted merely as a favour, and not as a Treaty right. Such a statement on the part of the Taotai of the most important Treaty port betrays an ignorance of Treaty provisions which may provoke serious difficulties, and I therefore venture to suggest that he should be instructed to exercise more care in his communications to the Consular Body on questions of international business.
I also have the honour to request that the Superintendent for Southern Trade and the local authorities may be called upon to refrain from establishing a Chinese Commer- cial Settlement or municipality in a locality bordering on the foreign Settlements where foreigners of all nationalities have already acquired property. Any such attempt can only be actuated by motives unfriendly to legitimate foreign interests, or be aimed at the prosperity of the foreign Settlements; and if his Excelleney the Superintendent of Southern Trade wishes to make experiments in municipal control there is ample oppor- tunity for him to begin with Shanghae city, the streets, lighting, water-supply, and sanitation of which stand in need of improvement; while there is no call whatever for him to begin by selecting an area which has been developed by foreign capital and enterprise.
I avail, &c.
(Translation.) Sir,
(Signed)
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Prince Ch'ing to Mr. Carnegie.
L. D. CARNEGIE.
I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of your note of the 7th instant
Peking, August 16, 1906. respecting the opening of a Chinese trading mart outside the foreign Settlements at Shanghae, and the establishment of a Public Works Office in that locality.
On receiving this note the Board telegraphed to the Shanghae Taotai for a report, which has now reached us,
The Taotai states that the project of starting a Chinese Settlement at Chapei was first talked of at the end of 1903, and that during the present year they had been discussing the establishment of a municipality, on the lines of that at Nan Shih, under official superintendence. The locality in question is at the junction with the district of Paoshan on the north. For many years foreigners have acquired land there. In the years 1898-99, when the extension of the Shanghae Settlements were being negotiated, the foreign Powers originally desired to make the extension include part of the Paoshan district, but the Taotai's predecessors all held that by Treaty it was Shanghae that was opened to foreign trade, and that as Paoshan was not a port (under Treaty) it could not be included. It was therefore decided that foreigners should only be permitted to acquire land and reside in the first and ninth subdivisions of the Paoshan district, which are conterminous with the Shanghae districts--all local government remaining still in the hands of the Chinese officials. Under the present project of establishing a new Settlement, it has always been intended to allow foreigners to reside there just the same, and to enjoy the advantages on the same footing as Chinese. The intention is to establish the police in the Settlement, so as to afford effective protection, and this is a
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measure of Government on the part of the Sovereign Power in its own territory, under- taken for the protection of trade and the safeguarding of the people, which in itself involves no breach of Treaty.
With regard to this reply of the Shanghae Taotai, the Board have the honour to observe that as the locality known as Chapei, at Shanghae, lies outside the foreign Settlements, the project of opening a trading mart there by China herself, and of establishing a municipality, is a step which should be taken for the good government of the place; and as foreigners are to be allowed to reside there just the same, it is evident that there is no intention of restricting their privileges or opposing their interests. When the Settlement has been opened and the police successfully inaugurated, the interests of foreigners will not only not be injured, but on the contrary the property of foreigners will be so safeguarded that it is to be hoped that friendly relations will be further strengthened.
Inclosure 6 in No. 1.
Mr. Carnegie to Prince Ch'ing.
Your Highness,
Peking, August 21, 1906. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Highness' note of the 16th August in which it is stated that, according to a report received from the Shanghae Taotai, the establishment of a municipality at Chapei is under discussion; that for many years foreigners have possessed land in the locality in question which joins the Paoshan district on the north; that when the extension of the Shanghae Settlement was negotiated in 1898-99 the Chinese authorities refused to allow part of the Paoshan district to be included in the extension on the ground that it was not in the Treaty Port area; that it is intended to allow foreigners to reside in the new Settlement on the same footing as Chinese; and that the intention being to establish a police force in this Settlement for purposes of protection, such a measure of government is within the competence of the Sovereign Power and involves no breach of Treaty.
Your Highness in communicating the Taotai's report to me observes that, as the locality known as Chapei lics beyond the foreign Settlements at Shanghae, the opening of a trade mart by China of her own motion, and the establishment of a municipality there, are steps proper to take in the interests of good government; that, as foreigners are to be allowed to reside in this Settlement as before, it is evident that there is no intention of restricting their privileges or opposing their interests; and that when the Settlement is opened and the police force successfully established, it is hoped that the protection thus given to foreign property will strengthen amicable relations.
As the Taotai repeats his former error I must once more state explicitly to your Highness that there can be no question as to whether or not the district referred to is within the Treaty Port area at Shanghae. It is within the Treaty Port area, foreigners have the right to acquire land there, and they have exercised that right for many years. Moreover, foreigners at Shanghae have always arranged their own police, sanitation, road-making and other municipal requirements, and they will continue to do so. And if your Highness will consider the matter for a moment you will be able to see that there is nothing strange in this. In foreign communities claborate and expensive organizations are formed to preserve cleanliness, to provide pure water, to make and repair roads and streets, to maintain a system of lighting, to protect persons and property, and to keep the peace; and the heavy cost of all these services is provided for by rates which are collected and expended by representatives of the ratepayers, honestly and efficiently. In China there is no such system. Neither in Shanghae city, nor in Peking, nor in Canton, nor in any other Chinese town known to me, is there a municipal system which would be tolerated by any foreign community. Why is it then that Chapei, a suburb of the largest foreign Settlement in China, where a large proportion of the land is leased to foreigners, and which is within the area of the Treaty Port of Shanghae, should be selected for the municipal experiments mentioned by the Shanghae Taotai? Simply and solely to block the natural and reasonable extension of the foreign Settlements in that direction. For that reason I assert again that any attempt to create a Chinese Settlement at Chapei can only spring from motives unfriendly to the foreign interests which have made Shanghae the important place it is, or is aimed at the prosperity of the Settlements which foreign enterprise and energy have built up.
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