CO129-351 - Public Offices - 1908 — Page 32

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In this connection His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General at Canton has expressed his opinion that if the friendly legislation which the Colony of Hong Kong has hitherto adopted in the interests of China, viz., the Arms Ordinance and the expulsion of Chinese revolutionary agents, was to be withheld it would have a marked effect,

I should be glad if your Excellency will kindly give this matter your considera- tion, for I think it very likely that if the Viceroy was reminded of the legislative assistance extended by Hong Kong towards China, and warned that the Colony is directly interested in the security of trade in the Canton Delta waterways, and that the "Sainam" was a Hong Kong registered vessel, it might help towards a settlement.

I will defer dispatching the telegram to the Admiralty to which I have previously referred until I have ascertained your Excellency's views in this matter.

(Confidential.)

Sir,

I have, &c.

(Signed) A. W. MOORE,

Admiral and Commander-in-chief.

Inclosure 3 in No. 1.

Governor Sir F. Lugard to Admiral Sir A. Moore.

Government House, Hong Kong, December 24, 1907.

I HAVE the honour to acknowledge receipt of your Excellency's despatch of yesterday's date in reference to the question as to what action short of forcible measures can be taken to put further pressure on the Viceroy in respect of the piracy and "Sainam " compensation difficulties, Your Excellency recalls the suggestion made by Mr. Mansfield that if the friendly legislation which the Hong Kong Government has hitherto adopted were withheld, and the Viceroy was warned that the Colony is directly interested in the security of trade in the Canton Delta waterways, and that the "Sainam" was a Hong Kong registered vessel, it might help towards a settlement.

2. This proposal bas already been communicated to the Foreign Office by His Majesty's Minister at Peking on the 27th July. On the 16th August a reply was received from His Majesty's Government to the effect that the proposal could not be approved. Some time in August Mr. Mansfield called upon me, and, in the course of conversation, I learnt of these proposals, upon which he asked my views. I replied that, the negotiations on these matters had hitherto been conducted by His Majesty's Minister and the Commander-in-chief without reference to this Government, and that, if the action taken by the fleet proved ineffective, it would appear to me that a certain "loss of face" (upon which the Chinese set such value) would be involved, viz., by abandoning as a failure the line of argument that if China would not recognize her obligations Great Britain would herself take effective action, and substituting for it, when it had proved ineffective, a course of action such as that now proposed. I added that it would not be altogether casy to give effect to such a threat as that proposed if the mere threat itself did not prove any more effective than the policy hitherto followed, for the friendly legislation and actions of Hong Kong alluded to are such as can scarcely be withheld by a civilized Power holding under lease a portion of Chinese- territory, and are, moreover, in some cases reciprocally advantageous to the Colony. The matters referred to are as follows:-

(a.) Prohibition of arms into China, except by permit, which is not issued without the cognizance of the Imperial Maritime Customs of China. His Excellency Tong Ta-jên, one of the ablest of Chinese officials, contended, in November 1906, that piracy was due to the illicit import of arms from Hong Kong. The revocation of this Ordinance, or the promiscuous grant of permits, would undoubtedly encourage piracy, which it is our object to suppress, and it would be difficult to resist the imputation that it was a vindictive act, against our own interests, and tending to bloodshed in China, without in any way promoting the suppression of piracy.

(6.) This Government has refused hospitality to prominent agitators and revolutionaries. This matter has also nothing to do with piracy. A reversal of our policy, however, would not, as in the former case, directly encourage piracy, but it would be a serious incentive to rebellion and bloodshed, not confined to the Kwang Provinces, but extending also to the Central Government, which, to the extent of its

power, has endeavoured to meet our demands. It would, moreover, in point of fact, probably be some time before any direct results of such action could be noticeable. This Government could not openly invite revolutionaries to Hong Kong, and a case of such a person arriving in the Colony and his expulsion being requested by the Chinese CGovernment (and refused) might not occur for a long time.

(c.) On the 11th October last, without any prior request from the Chinese Govern- ment, an Ordinance was passed prohibiting the printing, publication, sale, or distribution in the Colony of any printed or written matter calculated to excite tumult, disorder, or crime in China. The repeal of this Ordinance, which has only been two months in operation, would hardly exert any great pressure on the Viceroy, in other respects it is in the same category as the last point considered at (b).

(d.) Refusal of extradition. This would undoubtedly be viewed with consternation by the Viceroy, and though it is a reciprocal benefit, its abrogation would beyond doubt be far more damaging to China than to ourselves. Mutual extradition is, however, provided for by Article XXI of the Tien-tsin Treaty, and the local Ordinance No. 7 of 1899 is mainly explanatory, and prescribes limitations to the extent to which this Government will consent to give effect to the clause of the Treaty. It is not in the power of the Colonial Government to abrogate the Treaty, and the repeal of the local Ordinance would be a benefit rather than a cause of alarm to the Viceroy.

3. I fully appreciate the importance to the trade of this Colony of the suppression of piracy in the West River and delta, and I as fully recognize the obligation of this Government to use its utmost efforts to co-operate with His Majesty's Government in exacting compensation (with this object in view) for the "Sainam" outrage. I am, however, somewhat averse to the employment of a threat which it would be (as 1 have shown) extremely difficult to carry out, and which in any case would result in creating considerable ill-will towards this Colony on the part of the Viceroy and his colleagues, with whom I shall presently have to negotiate several important matters, such as a Joint Working Railway Agreement and the restriction of the issue of subsidiary coins, &c., matters of extreme importance to this Government. His Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs suggested that in the matter now under discussion the friendly action of this Government should be urged as a reason that the Viceroy should comply with the demands made, and I understand from the Consul-General that he has repeatedly used this argument but without effect. If the threat of withdrawal of these friendly offices on the part of this Government were made operative the situation created would, in my opinion, be more difficult than that which would arise had the Colony even sent troops to assist in the suppression of piracy.

4. I regret that this despatch has extended to such length, but I have desired to put your Excellency very fully in possession of the reasons which prompt me to depre- cate the proposed action except in the very last resort, and that in my view would not arise until some overt act of hostility had taken place, which amounted to a rupture of friendly relations between China and Great Britain.

5. My opinion has not been asked as regards the action which has hitherto been taken (though by your courtesy I have lately been placed in full possession of all that has been done). The action at present undertaken by the British patrol on the inland waters of the West River, &c., is, I understand, limited to the examination of vessels flying the British flag, and the search for unauthorized arms upon such vessels. I under- stand, further, that the so-called pirates are believed to be chiefly villagers inhabiting the riverain villages, who are prompted to these excesses either by failure of crops or by cupidity, and that the boat population do not (or only rarely) join these piratical bands. If I am right in these premises, and if it is desired to bring greater pressure upon the Viceroy than the patrol with its existing limitations of action can effect, it would seem to me that the extension of search to vessels bearing the Chinese flag (which presumably are the only ones which commit piratical acts) would increase the pressure (a course I understand to have been covered by your Excellency's proposals in March last). The Viceroy might also be urged to locate troops in the riverain districts without delay, and to issue an order that the chief official of a district in which au act of piracy occurred would be summarily deprived of office. The effectual action taken by the Thotai of Wuchow would seem to indicate that it lies within the power of these district officials to suppress piracy if they desire to do so, and those demands (since they do not involve foreign control) would probably not be repugnant to his Excellency. The Foreign Office has suggested the destruction of villages harbouring pirates and robbers, but your Excellency would probably consider that the landing of armed parties to search villages for arms would probably necessitate the dispatch of troops, and would not