CO129-344 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 13

6

With reference to your Excellency's despatch, we have already made it clear that it is absolutely impossible for us to accept it. We must, moreover, decline to receive any similar communications in the future. We therefore have the honour to return herewith your original despatch, together with the one under acknow- ledgment.

We avail, &c.

(Seals of Japanese and of British Consuls.)

Note. The Hunan Governor, when Taotai at Haukow, and his successors have followed a similar course when protests were made against the levy of li-kin on foreign cargo sent to Chinese buyers in the native town; that is, he would not admit the right to exemption, but took care that the li-kin office did not collect their claim (e.g., Guzdar's case, reported in despatches Nos. 50 and 65 of 1905, and No. 80, of the 20th September, 1901).

Hankow, February 6, 1907.

(Signed)

E. H. FRASER, Consul-General.

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.j

AFFAIRS OF CHINA,

CONFIDENTIAL.

[10916]

No. 1.

Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received April 6.)

12

15537

[AP] 2 MAY 07

SECTION 8.

(No. 87.)

Peking, February 19, 1907. Sir,

IN the despatch of the 30th ultimo from His Majesty's Acting Consul at Changsha, copy of which was inclosed in my despatch No. 80 of the 14th instant, a reference was made to certain property recently acquired by the Wesleyan Mission inside the city, as regards which there was a question at issue. The facts are stated in the later despatch of the 1st instant from Mr. Giles, copy of which is inclosed here- with, and from these it will be seen that the proposed limitations on the mission's ownership are only part of the general attempt to exclude the city from the Treaty port.

I have taken advantage of this case to address another note to Prince Ching, copy of which is also inclosed, exposing the irregularity of the Governor's action, and requesting that the Chinese Government should take the necessary steps to rectify the errors.

0

I have, &c. (Signed)

J. N. JORDAN.

(No. 5.) Sir,

Inclosure 1 in No. 1.

Acting Consul Giles to Sir J. Jordan,

Changsha, February 1, 1907. IN my Intelligence Report for last September quarter I referred to the acquisi- tion by the Wesleyan Mission of a property inside the city, and to the objections raised by the officials, and, as reported by me, I refrained from sending in the deeds until all questions in dispute should have been settled, so as to afford the officials no pretext for refusing to seal them.

At the end of Novembor, Mr. Watson, the Head of the mission in Changsha, informed me that all difficulties had been smoothed away, and I thereupon sent in to the Customs Taotai the bill of sale and the new title-dced, together with the old title- After some deeds, requesting that they be sent to the Magistrate for sealing. considerable delay the deeds were returned to me duly sealed, together with a despatch from the Taotai to the effect that, all the existing complications having been removed, The Taotai went on to say, there was no objection to the transfer of the property. however, that the land was to be treated as the public property of the mission, which they were not at liberty to resell, while on the new title-deed had been indorsed the words, "This is the public property of a local mission."

I returned the old deeds to Mr. Watson, informing him that the right of the mission to the property had been explicitly recognized by the authorities and that he need apprehend no further trouble; but I added that I would take steps to obtain the deletion of the indorsement which had been irregularly made on the new deed.

On the 10th January I forwarded the new deed to the Governor, in a despatch (Inclosure 2) pointing out that no limitations could be imposed on the right of British subjects, whether merchants or missionaries, to dispose as they pleased of property purchased by them at Treaty ports, and informing him that nothing could affect the mission's right to resell the land should it at any time be desired to do so. On these grounds I requested that the indorsement be deleted. On the 23rd January I received the Governor's reply (Inclosure 3), quoting the instructions of the Tsung-li Yamên with reference to land purchased by missions in the interior. He returned the deed, declining to cancel the indorsement. Consequently, on the 29th January, as instructed by you, I returned the Governor's despatch, together with the deed. my covering despatch (Inclosure 4) I reminded his Excellency that the land in question was not in the interior, and that consequently the Regulations invoked by

[2450 ƒ~8]

B

In