[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.}
[A
571
C. O.
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[9437]
No. 1.
12538
March 23.
SECTION PECE 10 APR 07)
(No. 72. Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received March 23.) Confidential.)
REFERRING to my telegram No. 21 of the 31st ultimo, I have the honour to
Peking, February 5, 1907. transmit to you herewith copy of a further Decree censuring in still more severe and menacing terms bis Excellency Tong Shoa-vi for the appointment of two officials to the Board of Communications. The Memorial which elicited this Edict, and of which a copy is inclosed, was presented by a person of no importance, but the virulence of its tone, and the fact that both it and the Decree have received publicity in the "Peking Gazette," show clearly that a determined onset is being made upon Tong Ta-jén, whose retention in office here seems to be almost impossible under the circumstances.
The origin of the struggle which is now going on between the progressives and the reactionaries is partly of a personal nature, and dates back, I understand, to the settlement of the Nan Chang massacre. That settlement, for which the Viceroy Yuan and Tong Ta-jên were supposed to be responsible, involved the sacrifice of the pro- vincial Judge of Kiangsi, à Hunan man and a personal friend of the Grand Secretary Ch'ü Hung.ch'i. The Shanghae riot of December last had resulted in the downfall of the Taotai, another prominent Hunan man, for whom the Grand Secretary professes a warm regard, and this second concession to foreigners at the expense of their province stimulated the Hunanese officials, who are clannish by instinct, to active resistance. They obtained the support of the conservative Viceroy of the province, the aged Chang Chih-tung, and it was one of his lieutenants, Liang Ting-fen, who made the first attack upon Tong Ta-jên, and inspired the movement which aimed at the revival of education apon Confucian principles, in opposition to the Western learning, of which the Viceroy. Yuan and Tong Ta-jên have stood forth as the prominent advocates,
Tong Ta-jên and the Grand Secretary Ch'u are extreme types of the parties to which they respectively belong, and a study of the two men's characters will serve to indicate the line of cleavage which now divides Chinese politicians. Tong belongs to a middle-class Cantonese family, which has long been identified with foreign trade, and has all the independence of character and practical business capacity which characterize the people of the southern city. He received his early education in the United States, and returned to find, like many others, that the Government which had sent him there showed little disposition to utilize his services.
After serving for some time in a subordinate position in the Customs, he joined the staff of Yuan Shih-kai, then Chinese Resident in Seoul, and had for years a large share in moulding the policy which ended so disastrously for China in 1894. Since then
he has served under his old patron, now Viceroy of Chihli, as Customs Taotai at Tien-tsin, and about two years ago came to Peking as a member of the Wai-wu Pu to promote the forward policy of the Viceroy and the progressive party generally.
In May last he came into sharp collision with us through his hasty and ill-considered action with regard to the customs, in which he gave a instance of the defects of his qualities. Masterful and optimistic by nature and notable temperature, he is too apt to underrate difficulties and make light of consequences. In the opium question, in which his sincerity is beyond all doubt, he has always shown a supreme disregard of financial considerations, and declined to recognize the immensity of the task on which the Government is embarking.
That a man of this stamp should sit at the same Board as the colleague of a pedant, like the Grand Secretary Ch'ü shows the cross currents which influence Chinese policy, and which result in inevitable friction. Ch'ù was brought up in the ultra-Conservative atmosphere of Hunan, passed with distinction through all the stages of the old educational curriculum until he obtained the highest degree, and has since spent his whole official life in the seclusion of Peking. He attended the Empress with assiduous devotion during the flight to Hsi-an after the Boxer troubles, and has since held a privileged position at Court.
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