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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Govenme654
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL
RECR Race 24 FEB 10 [January 31
SECTION 1.
[3555]
No. 1.
Consul-General Warren to Sir Edward Grey-(Received January 31.)
(No. 4.) Sir,
Shanghae, January 13, 1910. IN accordance with instructions from His Majesty's Minister at Peking, I have the honour to transmit to you direct copy of a report on the Chekiang Provincial Assembly.
I have, &c.
PELHAM L. WARREN.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Report on the Chekiang Provincial Assembly.
TO the Chekiang provincial assembly were elected 114 members; of these 112
were present at the opening of the assembly on the 14th October.
The Assembly Hall-a foreign-style building situated in Hangchow city, and to cost 120,000 taels-being still in course of construction, the assembly met in the Teachers' College.
To the assembly the governor deputed two deputies, the treasurer two, the provincial judge two, the provincial superintendent of instruction two, and each taotai two, to watch and explain their several interests.
The majority of the members were rather passive spectators than active partici- pators in the debates, which were conducted almost entirely by some dozen of their number.
To each matter discussed was allotted a fixed time, so that when a proposal had been read, and before any discussion could be had or any decision be reached, it frequently happened that its hour was passed, and it faded into oblivion.
The assembly, finding at the close of its month's sitting that the measures before it needed longer deliberation, extended its term for ten days, but, having received at the close of the month their expenses, the majority of the members left, and for the ten days' extension of the sitting barely a score remained.
Some seventy measures were laid before the assembly, a list of the chief of which is annexed. Few of them appear to have borne fruit, for only a score reached the stage of being submitted to the governor's committee for his comments upon them, aud of these not one has yet received any public expression of his opinion.
Between the members and the official party there was, if not a feeling of distrust, at least a lack of sympathy and considerable discordance of opinion, especially, perhaps necessarily, on the subject of finance.
The officials' deputies gave it to be understood that the assembly's time would be most profitably employed in devising means of increasing the revenue; the members, on the contrary, maintained that they were only concerned with formulating proposals in the public interest; the procuring of any funds necessary under such proposals was a matter for the Government.
It is owing to this disagreement that the governor has not yet made any reply to the assembly's recommendations.
It was the Chekiang assembly which first declared their unwillingness to receive orders from their governor, and claimed that he should correspond with them on terms of equality.
Amongst the list of matters discussed the most interesting to foreigners are the questions of currency, camphor, Mokan Shan, opium monopoly (on the discussion of which a special note is annexed), and waterways,
The proposal to institute regular court fees is worthy of attention as showing that public opinion is beginning to weary of legal bribery.
On the whole, the assembly may be considered as up to the average of the
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