7
435
6
Beyond indicating the railway line as the most desirable new limit in the absence of any natural barrier, the Council does not desire to go further into the question at present of the amount of extension which should be arranged; but, confident of public support to the proposal, the Council suggests that suitable representations be made to the Viceroy and to the Representatives of the Treaty Powers in Peking that extension is necessary in principle, whereafter the formalities which are requisite may be carried out in consultation with the local officials.
I have, &c. (Signed)
DAVID LANDALE, Chairman.
Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
"In thus openly defying the police, the native authorities are stirring up, as they well know, a spirit of restlessness and discontent with the peaceful government of Shanghae, which will surely spread, and may at any time burst forth into anti-foreign demonstrations, the end of which no one can foresee."
The view which Colonel Bruce takes of this matter is not, in the Council's opinion, an exaggerated one. It is clearly unreasonable to expect foreign constables to run the risk of assault without means of protecting themselves, and I venture therefore to lay a stress upon the desirability of making the position clear to the Taotai as soon as may be possible.
Apart from the more general question of the extension of the Settlement, it appears to the Council advisable to insist that, pending conclusion of such negotiations as may take place, the native police discontinue any attempt to patrol the municipal roads outside the present boundary.
I have, &c.
DAVID LANDALE, Chairman.
Sir,
China Association to Consul-General Sir P. Warren.
Shanghae, May 30, 1908. THE unfortunate incident in connection with the police supervision of the district adjoining the northern boundary of the Settlement is one which clearly illustrates the unsatisfactory condition of affairs arising out of the compromise agreed to in 1898, by which the whole of the Paoshan district was allowed to remain outside the limits of the Settlement.
British interests are more particularly affected by the position of the present boundary, as a large proportion of the property outside the line belongs to British subjects, and under these circumstances my Committee would respectfully submit that the application made by the Municipal Council for admission of the principle of an extension of the Settlement should be supported.
The conflict of authority in the fracas which occurred on the 27th instant was happily not serious, but if the native authorities are so short-sighted as to give instructions to their ill-disciplined police the effect of which is a resort to force, it may easily happen at any moment that serious trouble may spring up. The fact that Taotai Wong asked the Council to liberate the two Paoshan constables who had been arrested, on the plea that he might be unable to maintain discipline if they were held in custody, is evidence that his police force is ill-disciplined, and his failure to carry out his undertaking that they would appear at the Mixed Court for trial tends to destroy confidence.
The growth of the Settlement in the direction of the rifle range has been so rapid that a large district which was open country in 1898 is now covered with streets and houses, and thickly populated. That the limit of the Settlement is an imaginary line through this district, in some cases in the middle of a municipal road, clearly shows that some change is called for.
The provisional nature of the boundary agreed upon in 1898 was recognized by all those engaged in the negotiations at the time. As it is in the interest of the Chinese as well as of the foreign community that as little opportunity as possible be given for friction to arise between the Chinese and foreign authorities, my Committee would urge that advantage be taken of this conflict to press upon the Imperial Government the necessity of rearrangement of the boundaries of the Settlement, with a view to the preservation of harmonious relations in the administration of the Settlement.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
F. ANDERSON, Chairman.
(Signed)
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Consul-General Sir P. Warren.
(No. 33.) Sir,
Peking, June 17, 1908. I HAVE to acknowledge the receipt, on the 14th instant, of your despatch No. 60 of the 4th June, inclosing copy of a letter which has been addressed to the Senior Consul by the Chairman of the Shanghae Municipal Council, asking for the support of the Consular Body to the proposal that all the lands lying between the Shanghae Settlement and the railway line should be incorporated within the municipal limits, and be made liable to administration under the Land Regulations.
Having recently had an opportunity of seeing the district in question, I can testify to the inadequacy of the arrangements under which it is at present administered, and am in full sympathy with any proposal that is likely to improve the position of British holders of property on the outskirts of the International Settlement, and to conduce to the peace and good order of the Settlement itself.
But, as you are aware, Chinese public opinion is everywhere strongly opposed to further concessions of this kind, and unless the Consular Body at Shanghae can secure the assent of the local authorities and the Viceroy to the principle of extension, there seems to me, I regret to say, to be little prospect at present of inducing the Central Government to accede to the request of the Shanghae community. A question of this kind, the Government at Peking is sure to be guided almost entirely by the views of the provincial authorities, and if the Consular Body decide to entertain the proposal, their best chance of attaining this object is to prevail upon the Viceroy at Nanking to support it with the Central Government. A direct application by the Diplomatic Body in the first instance would only result in a reference to the Viceroy,
There is, unfortunately, an impression here that in some of the recent incidents at Shanghae a tendency has been shown to force this question to an issue, and this, however erroneous, may militate against its impartial consideration. It is important, therefore, that the Council's action should not lend itself to such a construction.
I should add that I have had no opportunity of consulting my colleagues, some of whom are temporarily absent, and that the above must be regarded as merely an expression of my personal views.
Sir,
Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Shanghae Municipal Council to M. Siffert.
June 4, 1908.
IN continuation of my letter of the 28th May, I have the honour to inform you that at 11:40 P.M. last night three mounted men of the native police beyond Settlement limits, one of them carrying a sword, proceeded at a gallop down the North Chekiang road from the railway station. The constable on duty attempted to stop them, but they made their way into an adjoining alley-way.
In drawing the Council's attention to this incident, the Captain-Superintendent of Police asks for instructions as to the employment of armed force to hinder similar incursions in the future. He writes:--
I am, &c.
(Signed)
J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure 6 in No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Consul-General Sir P. Warren.
(No. 34. Confidential.)
Sir,
Peking, June 19, 1908. THE incidents which have given rise to the application of the Municipal Council at Shanghae for an extension of the International Settlement, forwarded in your
7
435
6
Beyond indicating the railway line as the most desirable new limit in the absence of any natural barrier, the Council does not desire to go further into the question at present of the amount of extension which should be arranged; but, confident of public support to the proposal, the Council suggests that suitable representations be made to the Viceroy and to the Representatives of the Treaty Powers in Peking that extension is necessary in principle, whereafter the formalities which are requisite may be carried out in consultation with the local officials.
I have, &c. (Signed)
DAVID LANDALE, Chairman.
Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
"In thus openly defying the police, the native authorities are stirring up, as they well know, a spirit of restlessness and discontent with the peaceful government of Shanghae, which will surely spread, and may at any time burst forth into anti-foreign demonstrations, the end of which no one can foresee."
The view which Colonel Bruce takes of this matter is not, in the Council's opinion, an exaggerated one. It is clearly unreasonable to expect foreign constables to run the risk of assault without means of protecting themselves, and I venture therefore to lay a stress upon the desirability of making the position clear to the Taotai as soon as may be possible.
Apart from the more general question of the extension of the Settlement, it appears to the Council advisable to insist that, pending conclusion of such negotiations as may take place, the native police discontinue any attempt to patrol the municipal roads outside the present boundary.
I have, &c.
DAVID LANDALE, Chairman.
Sir,
China Association to Consul-General Sir P. Warren.
Shanghae, May 30, 1908. THE unfortunate incident in connection with the police supervision of the district adjoining the northern boundary of the Settlement is one which clearly illustrates the unsatisfactory condition of affairs arising out of the compromise agreed to in 1898, by which the whole of the Paoshan district was allowed to remain outside the limits of the Settlement.
British interests are more particularly affected by the position of the present boundary, as a large proportion of the property outside the line belongs to British subjects, and under these circumstances my Committee would respectfully submit that the application made by the Municipal Council for admission of the principle of an extension of the Settlement should be supported.
The conflict of authority in the fracas which occurred on the 27th instant was happily not serious, but if the native authorities are so short-sighted as to give instructions to their ill-disciplined police the effect of which is a resort to force, it may easily happen at any moment that serious trouble may spring up. The fact that Taotai Wong asked the Council to liberate the two Paoshan constables who had been arrested, on the plea that he might be unable to maintain discipline if they were held in custody, is evidence that his police force is ill-disciplined, and his failure to carry out his undertaking that they would appear at the Mixed Court for trial tends to destroy confidence.
The growth of the Settlement in the direction of the rifle range has been so rapid that a large district which was open country in 1898 is now covered with streets and houses, and thickly populated. That the limit of the Settlement is an imaginary line through this district, in some cases in the middle of a municipal road, clearly shows that some change is called for.
The provisional nature of the boundary agreed upon in 1898 was recognized by all those engaged in the negotiations at the time. As it is in the interest of the Chinese as well as of the foreign community that as little opportunity as possible be given for friction to arise between the Chinese and foreign authorities, my Committee would urge that advantage be taken of this conflict to press upon the Imperial Government the necessity of rearrangement of the boundaries of the Settlement, with a view to the preservation of harmonious relations in the administration of the Settlement.
I have, &c.
(Signed)
F. ANDERSON, Chairman.
(Signed)
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Consul-General Sir P. Warren.
(No. 33.) Sir,
Peking, June 17, 1908. I HAVE to acknowledge the receipt, on the 14th instant, of your despatch No. 60 of the 4th June, inclosing copy of a letter which has been addressed to the Senior Consul by the Chairman of the Shanghae Municipal Council, asking for the support of the Consular Body to the proposal that all the lands lying between the Shanghae Settle- ment and the railway line should be incorporated within the municipal limits, and be made liable to administration under the Land Regulations.
Having recently had an opportunity of seeing the district in question, I can testify to the inadequacy of the arrangements under which it is at present administered, and am in full sympathy with any proposal that is likely to improve the position of British holders of property on the outskirts of the International Settlement, and to conduce to the peace and good order of the Settlement itself.
In a
But, as you are aware, Chinese public opinion is everywhere strongly opposed to to further concessions of this kind, and unless the Consular Body at Shanghae can secure the assent of the local authorities and the Viceroy to the principle of extension, there seems to me, I regret to say, to be little prospect at present of inducing the Central Government to accede to the request of the Shanghae community. question of this kind, the Government at Peking is sure to be guided almost entirely by the views of the provincial authorities, and if the Consular Body decide to entertain the proposal, their best chance of attaining this object is to prevail upon the Viceroy at Nanking to support it with the Central Government. A direct application by the Diplomatic Body in the first instance would only result in a reference to the Viceroy,
There is, unfortunately, an impression here that in some of the recent incidents at Shangbae a tendency has been shown to force this question to an issue, and this, however erroneous, may militate against its impartial consideration. It is important, therefore, that the Council's action should not lend itself to such a construction.
I should add that I have had no opportunity of consulting my colleagues, some of whom are temporarily absent, and that the above must be regarded as merely an expression of my personal views.
Sir,
Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Shanghae Municipal Council to M. Siffert.
June 4, 1908.
IN continuation of my letter of the 28th May, I have the honour to inform you that at 11:40 P.M. last night three mounted men of the native police beyond Settlement limits, one of them carrying a sword, proceeded at a gallop down the North Chekiang road from the railway station. The constable on duty attempted to stop them, Lut they made their way into an adjoining alley-way.
In drawing the Council's attention to this incident, the Captain-Superintendent of Police asks for instructions as to the employment of armed force to hinder similar incursions in the future. He writes:--
I am, &c.
(Signed)
J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure 6 in No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Consul-General Sir P. Warren.
(No. 34. Confidential.)
Sir,
Peking, June 19, 1908. THE incidents which have given rise to the application of the Municipal Council at Shanghae for an extension of the International Settlements. forwarded in your
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