[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL,
6160
488
REC [January 1 20 FEB 08:
SECTION 2.
C
[1044]
No. 1.
(No. 552.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey-(Received January 11, 1908.)
Peking, November 24, 1907. I HAD the honour to receive your despatch No. 200 of the 15th May last on the 25th June, and, in obedience to the instructions contained therein, I addressed on the 2nd July a despatch (copy inclosed) to the Judge of His Majesty's Supreme Court at Shangbae, requesting him to consider and report, in consultation with His Majesty's Consul-General at Canton and myself, on the steps which should be taken for the more effective control of the launch traffic on the Canton and West Rivers.
A copy of your despatch was also forwarded on the same day to His Majesty's Consul-General at Canton, who was instructed to place himself in communication with Sir H. de Sausmarez and to furnish him with all the necessary information to enable him to form an opinion on the subject.
In his reply, dated the 18th July, copy of which I have the honour to transmit to you herewith, Mr. Mansfield pointed out that there seemed to be a misapprehension as to the intention and scope of the Inland Waters Steam Navigation Regulations, and quoted extracts from the Instructions issued by Sir Claude MacDonald at the time to show that His Majesty's Minister did not intend that launches plying under the Regulations should be registered as British ships at Shanghae or be governed by the Merchant Shipping Act. Mr. Mansfield considered that if conformity with the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act were enforced the result would be an immediate disappearance of all British launches from the inland navigation traffic in Canton waters, and he concluded by asking instructions as to whether he should take immediate steps to stop the launches now plying from flying the red ensign.
In acknowledging the receipt of this despatch on the 3rd August, I informed Mr. Mansfield that as I expected shortly to be in possession of the Judge's views on the whole question, it would be advisable for him to await the receipt of a further communication from me before taking a stop which, as he had indicated, would be construed by the Chinese authorities as a withdrawal of British protection.
Sir H. de Sausmarez conferred with me personally on the question in September last, and after his return to Shanghae he embodied his views in a despatch, copy of which I have the honour to inclose herewith.
Before proceeding to express any opinion on the subject, it may be well to point out that the question of controlling the steam-launch traffic by means of Regulations is not a new one, and that the present is only one of the many attempts which have been made to solve it during the past twenty years. It has, however, assumed additional importance since the inland waters of China were opened to steam naviga- tion under the Regulations of 1898.
A full précis of the whole history of the case from its inception in 1885 was inclosed in Mr. Carnegie's despatch No. 276 of the 25th June, 1906, together with a proposed King's Regulation which was intended to deal with its various aspects. The legislation on the subject was eventually embodied in "The draft Merchant Shipping Regulations, 1907," under Articles 4 and 39 of which the registration of such launches is, as you point out, accurately dealt with. But as the reports which have reached you from His Majesty's Consuls will have shown, it is considered that the strict enforcement of these provisions might result in considerable inconvenience and loss to British shipping, which is already exposed to the severe competition of heavily subsidized foreign lines, and should not be hampered by unnecessary restrictions. His Majesty's Consul-General in Shanghae, who is in an excellent position to form an opinion on the subject, considers that the proposed legislation would probably drive the smaller British craft out of the inland waters traffic altogether and leave it in the hands of their foreign rivals. He points out that a similar experiment was made in Hong Kong, but that it has since been found necessary to exempt vessels of this type from the strict Regulations applicable to sea-going ships.
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