CO129-372 - Public Offices - 1910 — Page 31

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

AFFAIRS OF CHINA.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[April 25] 14294

[14132]

SECTION 2CD

REC 12 MAY 10

No. 1.

Mr. Max Müller to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received April 25.)

(No. 98.) Sir,

WITH reference to Sir John Jordan's despatch No. 490 of the 28th December

Peking, April 7, 1910. last, I have the honour to report as follows upon the present position of the Whangpoo Conservancy question

----

The Wai-wu Pu have not yet replied to the note from the doyen of the diplomatic body of the 14th December last, copy of which was enclosed in Sir John Jordan's despatch above-mentioned, in which M. de Kuczynski stated that the foreign representatives could not consider the Chinese Government absolved from their obligations so long as the conservancy work was not completed to the extent and within the limits provided by the protocol of 1901. Nor have they, on the other hand, acted upon the suggestion contained in a memorial from the Viceroy, who, according to a statement published in the "North China Daily News" on the 3rd January last, proposed that the foreign Ministers should be informed that China is neither willing nor obliged to contribute further to the conservancy work.

Meanwhile, on the 17th January last, the Shanghac Chamber of Commerce and the Shanghae Branch of the China Association wrote to the senior consul and to Sir Pelham Warren respectively, urging, the one that the diplomatic body be urged to take steps to ensure the execution of the work, and the other that His Majesty's Minister should also take action in the same sense. The China Association stated in their letter that the European expert staff had received notice that their services would no longer be required after August next, but Sir Pelham Warren in his covering despatch, pointed out that this statement was not quite accurate, and that notice had only been given to the European employés, that, on the expiration of their present contracts, they would be employed from month to month. No notice, Sir Pelham Warren added, had as yet been given to M. de Rijke.

The letter from the Shanghae Chamber of Commerce to the senior consul was sent by the latter to the doyen, and duly circulated by M. de Kuczynski among his colleagues. I made a minute to the effect that I hoped it would be possible to fix au early date for the discussion of this important subject, and I have also spoken to the doyen about the matter on one or two occasions, but I saw that it was useless to attempt to get the diplomatic body to agree upon collective action until my colleagues had had an opportunity of examining the report upon M. de Rijke's scheme which is to be drawn up by Sir J. Wolfe Barry, Sir W. Matthews and Mr. Lyster, members of the Mersey Board, according to the data collected by the two engineers whom they sent out to examine the question on the spot. I have therefore refrained from taking any further action here.

In their letter to Sir Pelham Warren of the 17th January last the China Association estimated that a further sum of 500,000 taels would be required to maintain the improvements already effected, when the present contract expires in July or August next. I also saw in the Shanghae paper a letter written by the engineers, who had examined the Whangpoo on behalf of the Mersey Board to the chairman of the Shanghae Municipal Council, in which these gentlemen stated that it would be some months before the report of the board could be expected and that "it would be extremely unfortunate and detrimental to the works if, from want of funds, it should be found necessary to discontinue operations on those portions of the works now in progress and partially completed." I therefore telegraphed to Sir Pelham Warren on the 18th ultimo, explaining the difficulty of taking any action here, and enquiring whether any steps had been taken by the Consular Body to secure the provision of the funds necessary to maintain the works in progress. Sir Pelham Warren replied that no action had been taken by the Consular Body since sending to the doyen the letter from the Chamber of Commerce of the 17th January last, but that he would see the taotai on the 22nd ultimo and endeavour to ascertain the intentions of the Conservancy Board. The day after this interview took place

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