CO129-344 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 263

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

C.O.

262

AFFAIRS OF CHINA,

CONFIDENTIAL.

[16204)

No. 1.

1622

[May 18]

SECTION 48 JUN 07

Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received May 18.)

(No. 155. Confidential.)

Sir,

Peking, April 1, 1907.

IN my despatch No. 85 of the 18th February I mentioned that I had telegraphed His Majesty's Consul at Nanking, asking him to suggest to the Viceroy the advisability of giving the two men who had been handed over to him by the Mixed Court at Shanghae a public trial, and I have since been in communication with Mr. Ker on the subject.

The efforts which Mr. Ker has made to secure the prisoners a fair trial are described in the private letter, copy of which I have the honour to inclose; and having regard to all the circumstances of the case, I do not think we should be justified in resorting to more active interference on the men's behalf, or that we should serve their interests by doing so.

Unsatisfactory as the trial may appear to be from the strict standard of Western legal procedure, it marks a great advance upon the summary methods which used to be applied at Canton to Chinese criminals surrendered by the Government of Hong Kong, and, as Mr. Ker points out, the usual rules of extradition are not applicable to

this case.

I have, &c.

(Signed) J. N. JORDAN.

Inclosure in No. 1.

Dear Sir John,

Consul Ker to Sir J. Jordan.

Nanking, March 18, 1907. I HAVE more than once spoken to the Viceroy about the trial of the prisoners Huang and Chang, handed over by the Mixed Court for complicity in the Ping-hsiang ising. On the first occasion when I asked if they could have a public trial, the Viceroy replied that the trial might be considered to be a public one, and that it was being held by the Kiangning Fu or his judicial deputy.

I afterwards heard by private letter from Barton that reports were current in hanghae to the effect that the prisoners had been sentenced on account of charges hich had nothing to do with the charge on which they had been handed over by the lixed Court.

I made an excuse to call on the Fu, and tried to find out from him ow the case stood. He told me that the case was still going on (this was on the 1st arch), and that the prisoners denied the charge of complicity in the Ping-hsiang ebellion, but admitted other charges, which were, as far as I could make out, that Huang had been in prison before and that Chang was his associate. He gave me to

derstand, however, that these other charges were not serions.

The Viceroy, on my asking him again about the matter, confirmed the statement at other charges were being examined into, and added that Huang admitted having een a member of a Revolutionary Society before. His Excellency told me that when had been Governor of Hunan he had arrested Huang, but he had afterwards been leased on bail. He was a crafty villain,

Soon afterwards my "tingchai," whom I had instructed to make inquiries vately at the Prefect's yamên, reported to me that the trial was being conducted ith the utmost secrecy by the Prefect and the Commissioner of Police. I thought is report, combined with the evasive answers of the Viceroy and the Prefect, arranted me in telegraphing to you that I believed the trial was really secret, and I formed you at the same time that the prisoners were being tried on other charges as ell as the one on which they had been handed over.

I received on the 6th instant your telegram, instructing me to lose no opportunity urging the Viceroy, in his own interests, to give the men a public trial, in order to

[2194 s-3]

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