[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
CO
[B]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[17715]
No. 1.
17589
[May 18.
Stories 3. [1 JUN TO
(No. 126.) Sir,
Mr. Mar Müller to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received May 18.)
Peking, April 28, 1910. WITH reference to my despatch No. 108 of the 14th instant, I have the honour to transmit herewith a memorandum drawn up by Mr. Campbell, Chinese Secretary to His Majesty's Legation, on the political situation in China, with special reference to the statements and arguments contained in Mr. Little's memorandum.
I am glad to observe that the conclusions expressed by me in my above-mentioned despatch coincide largely with those of Mr. Campbell, whose long residence in China and knowledge of things Chinese should give great weight to his opinion on such a subject.
I have, &c.
W. G. MAX MÜLLER.
Enclosure in No. 1.
Observations by Mr. Campbell on Mr. E. S. Little's Memorandum of January 15, 1910.
THE general burden of Mr. Little's memorandum is that the anti-foreign feeling in China has developed abnormally of late, and that the whole policy and thought of the Chinese Government is now directly or indirectly levelled against the foreigner. So strongly does he hold this view that he predicts violent and bloody outbreaks before long, somewhat after the Boxer style, but conducted by the student class.
He supports this opinion by citing :-
1. The "carved melon" circular.
2. The behaviour of the student class.
3. The attitude towards railway loans.
4. The increased circulation of newspapers which spread the doctrine of hatred
of the foreigner.
5. The anti-foreign spirit of the officials and Government.
6. Voluntary subscriptions to pay off foreign loans and indemnities and build railways and a fleet without recourse to a foreign loan.
7. Halley's comet.
8. The impoverished condition of the finances.
9. Disaffection of the people caused by new taxes.
10. The anti-foreign and anti-official attitude of the provincial assemblies.
11. Want of confidence shown by the Chinese authorities in the new army. 12. The weakness of the Central Government.
The main fact underlying Mr. Little's views is of course the anti-foreign spirit. This is well recognised and there can be no doubt about it. It is no new phenomenon, though the manifestations naturally vary in form and strength. In bad seasons and times it is more pronounced and evident. In the present instance I notice that Mr. Little, whose head-quarters is at Shangbae, wrote his memorandum while en route to Ichang in January. His opinions were, therefore, in all probability, chiefly formed while travelling in Hupei which is in a state of distress.
The "carved melon" circular which, I am informed, came from Chinese students in Japan, has excited wide attention, but I do not think that the effect has been so pronounced, in North China at any rate, as Mr. Little believes. Political posters, leaflets, and pamphlets have been the order of the day for some years, and their text is naturally the aggressious of the foreigner. Such political publications have a certain vogue and no doubt influence, and the cumulative effect as years go on may
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