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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government 1011
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AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[22153]
No. 1.
RECO
KEGY 24 JUN 09
[June 14.]
SECTION 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received June 14.) (No. 159. Confidential.) Sir,
Peking, April 17, 1909. IN compliance with the instructions contained in your circular despatch (B) of the 9th April, 1906, and in continuation of my despatch No. 267 of the 1st June, 1907, I have the honour to offer the following observations regarding the heads of the foreign missions in Peking.
The doyen of the diplomatic corps, M. de Carcer, has already been described in the last report. He is an extremely agreeable good-natured man and performs his duties as doyen in a careful and conscientious manner and with us great a degree of efficiency as is possible considering that he has no staff.
Mme. de Carcer has been an invalid for some time past.
Mr. Rockhill, the United States Minister, who was also noticed in the last report, is credited with pro-Chinese and somewhat anti-Japanese sentiments, and has played a considerable part during the year in endeavouring to influence Chinese policy in Manchuria. His advice is often sought by the Chinese on general questions of foreign policy, and is occasionally too favourable to the Chinese point of view to meet with general acceptance from his colleagues. He has had much experience as a traveller and is a man of wide culture and extensive reading, but these advantages are counter- balanced to some extent by a certain lack of reticence and a tendency to vacillation in his judgment. Both Mr. and Mrs. Rockhill are very popular and highly esteemed members of Peking society.
Count Rex, the German Minister, is a bluff hearty Saxon, who has no great liking for work and only a very superficial knowledge of China.
He is usually invisible from 2 to 4 every afternoon in winter and spends his summers at Peitaho. In dealing with public affairs he trusts to bluster rather than argument to carry his point, and is certainly deeply imbued with a sense of the predominant importance of his own country. Germany profits by the fact that she is the only Power which has entered into no political arrangements with regard to China, and Count Rex is not slow to exploit this advantage. He is, on the whole, fairly popular with the community and well liked by his own nationals.
Mr. Ijuin, the Japanese Minister, may be described as a solid hard-headed Japanese, with a good deal of quiet determination and rather less than the usual Japanese secretiveness. He came here with a good reputation which he had acquired as consul-general at Tien-tsiu, but found that times had changed during his absence and that the Chinese had become much more difficult to deal with. So far he has had but meagre success in the settlement of outstanding questions, but relations have improved between the two neighbouring Empires during the time he has been here.
M. Korostovetz came here as Minister for Russia in September 1908, but had had previous experience of China as second secretary of the Legation in 1893-4 and again as political adviser to Admiral Alexieff at Port Arthur in 1900. Ilis frankness almost borders on indiscretion, but he is, so far as my experience of him, which is con- siderable, goes, perfectly honest and straightforward. He was never an advocate of the adventurous anti-bellum policy pursued by the Russians in China, and is therefore better adapted than his predecessor for playing the somewhat subordinate rôle now assigned to the Russian Minister at Peking. Both he and his wife are unpretentious people, thoroughly kind and hospitable, and generally respected by the community.
M. Boissonnas, the French chargé d'affaires, who is now acting in that capacity for the second time, is a thoroughly sensible practical man with whom it is a pleasure to transact business. He is moderate in his attitude, but by no means waiting in firmness, and possesses what his predecessor, M. Bapst, lacked-the spirit of accommo- dation necessary to get on with the Chinese. Mme. Boissonas is an extremely charming and popular lady and immensely wealthy, judged by Peking standards.
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