CO129-360 - Public Offices - 1909 — Page 342

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This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.

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AFFAIRS OF CHINA.

[January 23.]

CONFIDENTIAL.

SECTION 3.

[3056]

No. 1.

Mr. Hillier to Mr. Addis.~~(Communicated by Mr. Addis, January 23, 1909.)

(Private.) My dear Addis,

Peking, January 5, 1909.

I FEEL that it devolves on me to write to you with regard to the sensational Edict of the 2nd January, dismissing Yuan Shih-k'ai from office, as to the effect of which no doubt many conflicting rumours have been wired home. Opinions indeed are conflicting enough here, but I have had the opportunity of hearing many views; and, although it is difficult at this early stage to write with confidence as to the immediate future, I will endeavour to set down my impressions for what they are worth.

The Legation are naturally disquieted and alarmed at the sudden removal of a man whom they consistently supported as the representative of a strong and progressive policy for China. Personally, this one-man policy has seemed to me unsound, and it can hardly be contended that Yuan is the only man in China capable of guiding his country in the paths of sound reform and progress. He was strong, but he was also ambitious. His want of sympathy with the present Government must always have made him the centre of a dangerous faction, and it was unreasonable to expect that the Prince Regent, having assumed the supreme power, would tolerate longer than necessary the presence of a colleague who, rightly or wrongly, he regards as the enemy, if not the murderer of his dead brother. From a Chinese point of view, the natural affection of the Prince for the memory of his unfortunate elder brother would have justified much harsher measures; and, in relieving Yuan from his official duties on the ground of ill- health, he has shown singular magnanimity. The Chinese do not entertain the same high respect for Yuan that foreigners do. They have no faith in the purity of his motives, and look upon his removal as, on the whole, a good thing for the country.

With regard to Yuan's two principal henchmen, Tong Shao-yi and Liang Tun-yen, the opinion of Chinese seems to be that they will not suffer by his downfall. Tong is on good terms with the Prince Regent, who has a high opinion of his ability, and the probability is that on his return from his present mission abroad, he will be made President of the Wai-wu Pu in Yuan's place. In the meantime, an Edict of a couple of days ago appoints Liang Tun-yen Acting President of the Board; and, as Liang is a graduate of Harvard, speaks English perfectly, and is a man of known foreign tastes and sympathies, we may gather from this appointment that the policy of the Prince Regent is neither anti-foreign nor reactionary, and is directed, in the present instance, solely against Yuan as an undesirable element in the State.

Those who condemn the action of the Prince Regent speak of him disparagingly as a hot-headed young Manchu of no experience. Young he certainly is, and no doubt has much to learn; but my information is that he is a serious-minded young fellow, of clean life and irreproachable personal integrity, and full of sincere zeal for the good of his country.

A man may be judged by his friends, and those of the Prince Regent are Chang Chih-tung, Prince Su, and the Duke Tse. Chang Chih-tung we know already. He may have his faults, but no one has ever been able to point the finger of scorn at him as a corrupt official; and, after more than a quarter of a century of high provincial posts, he is a poor man. Prince Su is the friend of foreigners, and the zealous advocate of reform and progress, and his name, to foreigners and Chinese alike, is a synonym for personal honesty. It was he who, a few years ago, was appointed Controller of the Peking Octroi revenue. By his strict administration he raised the collection, during his short term of office, from 4 lacs taels to 8 laes taels per annum-a result which produced such consternation among minor officials of the Department-that they procured his impeachment and removal, since when the collection has gradually returned to its previous level. The Duke Tse you have probably met. He was one of the Com- missioners who went to Europe a couple of years ago, and has the reputation of being an upright, serious man. At the present moment he is President of the Board

of Finance.

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