12
conditions, and he had understood from Yuan Shih K'ai that it lay entirely with the Viceroy to accept them or not. According to reports from his officers in these waterways, the existing Chinese gun-boats and patrol launches were mostly unsuited to their work and were deficient in speed. Most of the guard-boats had been removed since the commissioning of the fourteen launches purchased by Viceroy Chou, which were much too slow. Moreover, there must be active co-operation by the authorities on shore. He drew serious attention to the piracy of the "Sainam," which was a matter of the extremest importance. Dr. MacDonald, who had spent over twenty years of his life ministering to the physical ills of the Chinese, had been brutally done to death, and it was only chance that the captain and engineer of the ship had escaped with their lives. It was the invariable custom of all nations to make proper compensation for outrages of this nature. It was not his wish to be compelled to himself undertake the protection of British lives and British property in these waters. That was the duty of the Chinese themselves. At the same time, if the Chinese could not do it satisfactorily, consequences might follow which would perhaps be more objectionable to them than compliance with his present request. He would remind the Viceroy of the assistance rendered to his Excellency by the Governor of Hong Kong in the matter of the prohibition of the export of arms, and in their refusal to afford asylum to revolutionaries. It must be remembered, too, that recently ten Chinese midshipmen had received two years careful training on vessels belonging to the China station, six had just been sent to Greenwich, and two more were about to be embarked in the squadron. Surely the Chinese authorities must be sensible of all this consideration and be willing to extend to us due reciprocity. To summarize, if the Viceroy would undertake to make a satisfactory settlement of the "Sainam" case, and would agree to place on the waterways the four cruisers under Imperial Maritime Customs control with foreign officers, other details could be amicably discussed and arranged. Would he accept these cruisers on the conditions given or not? He had to telegraph to the Admiralty, and he wanted a definite answer, "yes" or "no."
The Viceroy expressed his appreciation of the assistance rendered by the Hong Kong Government and by the navy, but absolutely refused to agree to the employment of the four cruisers under Imperial Maritime Customs control with foreign officers. In point of fact he had in his possession a telegram from the Wai-wu Pu, details and date of which he would furnish, in which it was stated that the British Minister had withdrawn his demand for the employment of foreign officers. He was willing to place these four cruisers on the waterways to act upon the scheme for additional patrol which he had already submitted to the Admiral, to provide for the co-operation of the military on shore, and to take such further steps as time and circumstances should demand, and in all these matters he was prepared to consult and take the advice of the Commissioner of Customs. The four cruisers must, however, be under the control of the Provincial Government, and it must be remembered that he (the Viceroy) was the head of the Customs, that the Commissioner took his orders from him; that, while the duties of the Commissioner extended to the prevention of smuggling, they did not include the responsibility of arresting pirates. Moreover, he had discussed the question of the control and officering of the four cruisers with the Commissioner of Customs, and the latter had expressed himself as unable to undertake the task. The entire extent of the waterways was 2,000 li, and how could four cruisers effectively patrol them? (This difficulty the Admiral admitted, and said he would like to see more of these cruisers. He had asked for four as a minimum. He regretted to say that the principal reason for them was to insure that other patrol-boats on the river did their duty. It was well known that they did not, and instances had occurred—notably in the case of the "Ki Cheung"—where piracies happened in hail of guard-vessels and guard-boats, which had offered no assistance.) As to the "Sainam" case, for which compensation was demanded, the incident had not occurred during his Viceroyalty, and he was not cognizant with all the details. An answer would be given in a week. The guard-boats had been replaced.
A question raised by his Excellency was that of so-called British ownership of launches flying the British flag. There were cases in which the flag was lent to Chinese. The Admiral replied that this was a matter which had already come to his notice and which he was considering.
(Translation,)
13
Inclosure 11 in No. 1.
Viceroy of Canton to Consul-General Mansfield.
Sir,
Canton, November 21, 1907. REFERRING to my interview of this date with yourself and his Excellency the Admiral, at which the additional purchase of cruisers for policing the waterways was referred to, the Admiral's opinion was that the four fast cruisers obtained by this province should be handed over to the control of the Commissioner of Customs, that one foreign officer should be in charge of each vessel, that the engagement of the crew and the executive control of the vessels should both be the duties of the Commissioner, and that I, as Viceroy, should merely depute a Chinese official to each vessel as my representative. I at once replied that piracy was of long standing in the Canton Province, and that I had, in consequence, after my arrival here, proposed the addition of four fast cruisers to conduct an effective patrol. The length of the waterways of the East, West, and North Rivers is altogether over 2,000 li, so that the mere addition of four cruisers would be very far from proving effective; the whole state of affairs must be taken into consideration, and active measures taken by land and water, in order to bring peace to the locality. The new Regulations for the suppression of piracy recently sent to you by the Foreign Bureau for your examination represent measures to be actually taken; should they in any way prove ineffectual, alterations can be made from time to time.
The suppression of piracy comes within the sphere of my duties, and there can be no possible reason for neglecting anything which could tend to this end. Future discussion of methods to be adopted can be in consultation with the Commissioner of Customs, and I should have pleasure in selecting for adoption any proposals sent in by the Commissioner, if to the point and feasible, thereby obtaining the advantage of "two heads being better than one."
Although the Commissioner is an official in the employ of China, he has only the duty of arresting smugglers, and has not the power of arresting pirates. Everything connected with the arrest of pirates, employment of men and executive government, is in the control of the Viceroy, and it would be inconvenient to allow the Commissioner to take control.
As regards the appointing of a foreign officer in charge of each cruiser, the obstacles in the way of this are numerous. The question need not come under consideration, in view of the fact that it is on record that His Majesty's Minister at Peking has stated to the Foreign Board that foreign officers need not be employed, and that China can appoint officers in charge. The addition of fast cruisers for the arrest of pirates was a proposal already in view in this province. The four cruisers which the Admiral requests me to purchase I now agree to purchase as speedily as possible. Compliments.
(Translation.) Sir,
Inclosure 12 in No. 1.
Viceroy of Canton to Consul-General Mansfield.
Canton, November 27, 1907. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt, on the 23rd instant, of the reply of his Excellency the British Admiral, with reference to the suppression of piracy on the West River, and the piracy of the steam-ship "Sainam."
The suppression of piracy is a matter of China's internal administration, and comes within the sphere of my duties as Viceroy. The addition of steam and sailing gun-boats and the adoption of a general scheme by land and water will, of course, have to be actually carried into effect, any points which are unsatisfactory may be altered afterwards. It is to be sincerely hoped that things will be thoroughly put in order so that piracy may be suppressed.
I have from time to time heard of the practice of Chinese steam-launches wrongfully flying foreign flags. I was therefore compelled to ask that measures should be taken to prevent it. I am thoroughly pleased that the British Admiral has now consented to devise new registration regulations so as to put an end to corrupt practices now existing. The British flag has hitherto been treated by China as deserving of the greatest honour; but if Chinese steam-launches are permitted to fly it wrongfully, by
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12
conditions, and he had understood from Yuan Shih K'ai that it lay entirely with the Viceroy to accept them or not. According to reports from his officers in these waterways, the existing Chinese gun-boats and patrol launches were mostly unsuited to their work and were deficient in speed. Most of the guard-boats had been removed since the commissioning of the fourteen launches purchased by Viceroy Chou, which were much too slow. Moreover, there must be active co-operation by the authorities on shore. He drew serious attention to the piracy of the "Sainam," which was a matter of the extremest importance. Dr. MacDonald, who had spent over twenty years of his life ministering to the physical ills of the Chinese, had been brutally done to death, and it was only chance that the captain and engineer of the ship had escaped with their lives. It was the invariable custom of all nations to make proper compensation for outrages of this nature. It was not his wish to be compelled to himself undertake the protection of British lives and British property in these waters. That was the duty of the Chinese themselves. At the same time, if the Chinese could not do it satisfactorily, consequences might follow which would perhaps be more objectionable to them thau compliance with his present request. He would remind the Viceroy of the assistance rendered to his Excellency by the Governor of Hong Kong in the matter of the prohibition of the export of arms, and in their refusal to afford asylum to revolutionaries. It must be remembered, too, that recently ten Chinese midshipmen had received two years careful training on vessels belonging to the China station, six had just been sent to Greenwich, and two more were about to be embarked in the squadron. Surely the Chinese authorities must be sensible of all this consideration and be willing to extend to us due reciprocity. To summarize, if the Viceroy would undertake to make a satisfactory settlement of the "Sainam" case, and would agree to place on the waterways the four cruisers under Imperial Maritime Customs control with foreign officers, other details could be amicably discussed and arranged. Would he accept these cruisers on the conditions given or not? He had to telegraph to the Admiralty, and he wanted a definite answer, "yes" or "no."
The Viceroy expressed his appreciation of the assistance rendered by the Hong Kong Government and by the navy, but absolutely refused to agree to the employment of the four cruisers under Imperial Maritime Customs control with foreign officers. In point of fact he had in his possession a telegram from the Wai-wu Pu, details and date of which he would furnish, in which it was stated that the British Minister had withdrawn his demand for the employment of foreign efficers. He was willing to place these four cruisers on the waterways to act upon the scheme for additional patrol which he had already submitted to the Admiral, to provide for the co-operation of the military on shore, and to take such further steps as time and circumstances should demand, and in all these matters he was prepared to consult and take the advice of the Commissioner of Customs. The four cruisers must, however, be under the control of the Provincial Government, and it must be remembered that he (the Viceroy) was the head of the Customs, that the Commissioner took his orders from him; that, while the duties of the Commissioner extended to the prevention of smuggling, they did not include the responsibility of arresting pirates. Moreover, he had discussed the question of the control and officering of the four cruisers with the Commissioner of Customs, and the latter had expressed himself as unable to undertake the task. The entire extent of the waterways was 2,000 li, and how could four cruisers effectively patrol them? (This difficulty the Admiral admitted, and said he would like to see more of these cruisers. He had asked for four as a minimum. He regretted to say that the principal reason for them was to insure that other patrol-boats on the river did their duty. It was well known that they did not, and instances had occurred-notably in the case of the "Ki Cheung" -where piracies happened in hail of guard-vessels and guard-boats, which had offered no assistance.) As to the "Sainam" case, for which compensation was demanded, the incident had not occurred during his Viceroyalty, and he was not cognizant with all the details. An answer would be given in a week. The guard-boats. had been replaced.
A question raised by his Excellency was that of so-called British ownership of launches flying the British flag. There were cases in which the flag was lent to Chinese. The Admiral replied that this was a matter which had already come to his notice and which he was considering.
(Translation,)
13
Inclosure 11 in No. 1.
Viceroy of Canton to Consul-General Mansfield.
Sir,
Canton, November 21, 1907. REFERRING to my interview of this date with yourself and his Excellency the Admiral, at which the additional purchase of cruisers for policing the waterways was referred to, the Admiral's opinion was that the four fast cruisers obtained by this province should be handed over to the control of the Commissioner of Customs, that one foreign officer should be in charge of each vessel, that the engagement of the crew and the executive control of the vessels should both be the duties of the Commissioner, and that I, as Viceroy, should merely depute a Chinese official to each vessel as my repre- sentative. I at once replied that piracy was of long standing in the Cantou Province, and that I had, in consequence, after my arrival here, proposed the addition of four fast cruisers to conduct an effective patrol. The length of the waterways of the East, West, and North Rivers is altogether over 2,000 li, so that the mere addition of four cruisers would be very far from proving effective; the whole state of affairs must be taken into into consideration, and active measures taken by land and water, in order to bring peace to the locality. The new Regulations for the suppression of piracy recently scnt to you by the Foreign Bureau for your examination represent measures to be actually taken; should they in any way prove ineffectual, alterations can be made from time to time.
The suppression of piracy comes within the sphere of my duties, and there can be no possible reason for neglecting anything which could tend to this end. Future discus- sion of methods to be adopted can be in consultation with the Commissioner of Customs, and I should have pleasure in selecting for adoption any proposals sent in by the Commissioner, if to the point and feasible, thereby obtaining the advantage of "two heads being better than one."
Although the Commissioner is an official in the employ of China, he bas only the Everything duty of arresting smugglers, and has not the power of arresting pirates. connected with the arrest of pirates, employment of men and executive government, is in the control of the Viceroy, and it would be inconvenient to allow the Commissioner to take control.
As regards the appointing of a foreign officer in charge of each cruiser, the obstacles in the way of this are numerous. The question need not come under consideration, in view of the fact that it is on record that His Majesty's Minister at Peking has stated to the Foreign Board that foreign officers need not be employed, and that China can appoint officers in charge. The addition of fast cruisers for the arrest of pirates was a proposal already in view in this province, The four cruisers which the Admiral requests me to purchase I now agree to purchase as speedily as possible. Compliments.
(Translation.) Sir,
Inclosure 12 in No. 1.
Viceroy of Canion to Consul-General Mansfield.
Canton, November 27, 1907. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt, on the 23rd instant, of the reply of his Excellency the British Admiral, with reference to the suppression of piracy on the West River, and the piracy of the steam-ship "Sainam."
The suppression of piracy is a matter of China's internal administration, and comes within the sphere of my duties as Viceroy. The addition of steam and sailing gun- boats and the adoption of a general scheme by land and water will, of course, have to be actually carried into effect, any points which are unsatisfactory may be altered afterwards. It is to be sincerely hoped that things will be thoroughly put in order so that piracy may be suppressed.
I have from time to time heard of the practice of Chinese steam-launches wrong- fully flying foreign flags. I was therefore compelled to ask that measures should be taken to prevent it. I am thoroughly pleased that the British Admiral has now con- sented to devise new registration regulations so as to put an end to corrupt practices now existing. The British flag has hitherto been treated by China as deserving of the greatest honour; but if Chinese steam-launches are permitted to fly it wrongfully, by
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