This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government
AFFAIRS OF CHINA,
CONFIDENTIAL.
[February 8 o na
SECTION 5.
[4354]
No. 1.
(No. 584.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received February 8, 1908.)
Peking, December 20, 1907.
IN my despatch No. 252 of the 29th May last I had the honour to report that the Huangpu Conservancy Board had accepted the tender of a Dutch Syndicate for the dredging works at the Woosung Bar. The project, which is being carried on under the direction of M. de Rijke, whose appointment as Engineer-in-chief received the approval of the foreign Representatives, has since encountered much adverse criticism on the part of the German community at Shanghae, whose views are indorsed by the German Consul-General there and the German Minister here.
Towards the end of August the German Consul-General at Shanghae and a German engineer named Schnellhoss, who came out to China, I understand, largely with the view of securing for his nationals a share in the Huangpu Conservancy work, called on His Majesty's Consul-General there and expressed the opinion that there were serious objections to M. de Rijke's scheme. The German Consul-General explained that their object was not to embarrass the Engineer-in-chief, but that doubts having arisen in their minds as to the success of the present operations, they wished to have their ideas fully considered with a view to a possible modification of the scheme or in any case to an explanation from M. de Rijke. A Memorandum embodying M. Schnellhoss' objections, copy of which I have the honour to inclose, was subsequently forwarded to me unofficially by His Majesty's Consul-General.
A little later my German colleague paid me a visit, and urged the necessity of having M. de Rijke's scheme examined by a Commission of Experts. He expressed the same views to the other foreign Representatives, but we all felt that any inquiry of the kind would not only prove inconclusive, but would weaken M. de Rijke's position vis-à-vis the Chinese Government, and possibly lead to the abandonment of the whole scheme.
However, on the 23rd October I asked Sir Pelham Warren to let me know privately what the best informed local opinion thought of M. Schnellhoss' criticisms, and in a reply, dated the 26th October, he reported that, after extensive inquiries, he could find no one who paid any serious attention to it. Mr. Tyler, the Customs Coast Inspector, regarded M. Schnellhoss as a man who did not know what he was talking about, and all the British firms had complete confidence in M. de Rijke.
The question was considered at a meeting of the Consular Body at Shanghae on the 19th November, when a letter was read from the German Consul-General, inclosing a Memorandum addressed to him by the German shipping firms, in which the latter set forth their objections to M. de Rijke's scheme. In this paper, copy of which is inclosed herewith, it is sought to prove by a comparison of M. de Rijke's Report of 1898, and the recent Huangpu Conservancy Reports, that the surmises on which the scheme of 1898 was based, have not been verified, and that its execution is now attended with serious risk to the navigation of the river.
At the same meeting of the Consular Body Sir Pelham Warren, His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General, read a letter addressed to him by the China Association and Mr. Denby, United States' Consul-General, a letter from the American Association in China, copies of which I have the honour to inclose.
The former body considered that the evidence adduced was not sufficient to warrant any interference with the working of M. de Rijke's scheme, while the latter held that nothing but the most clearly proved necessity should be allowed to interpose any obstacle to the progress of a work which had been urgently demanded by the community for such a length of time. Both agreed in the suggestion that M. de Rijke might be invited to give an expression of his opinion as to whether the altered conditions of the river were such as to justify any modification of his plans.
This suggestion was indorsed by the Shanghae General Chamber of Commerce in a letter to the Senior Consul, copy of which is likewise inclosed, and the majority of the Consular Body eventually decided that the Memorandum of the German shipping
[2846 h-5]
B
74
{This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government
AFFAIRS OF CHINA,
CONFIDENTIAL.
[February 8 o na
SECTION 5.
[4354]
No. 1.
(No. 584.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received February 8, 1908.)
Peking, December 20, 1907. IN my despatch No. 252 of the 29th May last I had the honour to report that the Huangpu Conservancy Board had accepted the tender of a Dutch Syndicate for the dredging works at the Woosung Bar. The project, which is being carried on under the direction of M. de Rijke, whose appointment as Engineer-in-chief received the approval of the foreign Representatives, has since encountered much adverse criticism on the part of the German community at Shanghae, whose views are indorsed by the German Consul-General there and the German Minister here.
Towards the end of August the German Consul-General at Shanghae and a German engineer named Schnellhoss, who came out to China, I understand, largely with the view of securing for his nationals a share in the Huangpu Conservancy work, called on His Majesty's Consul-General there and expressed the opinion that there were serious objections to M. de Rijke's scheme. The German Consul-General explained that their object was not to embarrass the Engineer-in-chief, but that doubts having arisen in their minds as to the success of the present operations, they wished to have their ideas fully considered with a view to a possible modification of the scheme or in any case to an explanation from M. de Rijke. A Memorandum embodying M. Schnellhoss' objections, copy of which I have the honour to inclose, was subsequently forwarded to me unofficially by His Majesty's Consul-General.
A little later my German colleague paid me a visit, and urged the necessity of having M. de Rijke's scheme examined by a Commission of Experts. He expressed the same views to the other foreign Representatives, but we all felt that any inquiry of the kind would not only prove inconclusive, but would weaken M. de Rijke's position vis-à-vis the Chinese Government, and possibly lead to the abandonment of the whole scheme.
However, on the 23rd October I asked Sir Pelham Warren to let me know privately what the best informed local opinion thought of M. Schnellhoss' criticisms, and in a reply, dated the 26th October, he reported that, after extensive inquiries, he could find no one who paid any serious attention to it. Mr. Tyler, the Customs Coast Inspector, regarded M. Schnellhoss as a man who did not know what he was talking about, and all the British firms had complete confidence in M. de Rijke.
The question was considered at a meeting of the Consular Body at Shanghae on the 19th November, when a letter was read from the German Consul-General, inclosing a Memorandum addressed to him by the German shipping firms, in which the latter set forth their objections to M. de Rijke's scheme. In this paper, copy of which is inclosed herewith, it is sought to prove by a comparison of M. de Rijke's Report of 1898, and the recent Huangpu Conservancy Reports, that the surmises on which the scheme of 1898 was based, have not been verified, and that its execution is now attended with serious risk to the navigation of the river.
At the same meeting of the Consular Body Sir Pelbau Warren, His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General, read a letter addressed to him by the China Association and Mr. Denby, United States' Consul-General, a letter from the American Association in China, copies of which I have the honour to inclose.
The former body considered that the evidence adduced was not sufficient to warrant any interference with the working of M. de Rijke's scheme, while the latter held that nothing but the most clearly proved necessity should be allowed to interpose any obstacle to the progress of a work which had been urgently demanded by the community for such a length of time. Both agreed in the suggestion that M. de Rijke might be invited to give an expression of his opinion as to whether the altered conditions of the river were such as to justify any modification of his plans.
This suggestion was indorsed by the Shanghae General Chamber of Commerce in a letter to the Senior Consul, copy of which is likewise inclosed, and the majority of the Consular Body eventually decided that the Memorandum of the German shipping
[2846 h-5]
B
74
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