[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government
559
23322
RECR RegP26 AUG 10
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
(17801]
No. 1.
[May 18.]
SECTION 6.
Mr. Max Müller to Sir Edward Grey~(Received May 18.)
(No. 97.) (Telegraphic.) P.
Peking, May 18, 1910, MY despatches Nos. 142 and 143 of the 5th instant respecting the Changsha riots. Further reports have reached me, from which the complicity of certain of the gentry and officials appears to be established.
As a basis of settlement I would advance the following suggestions :----
1. Payment of claims. In regard to this I would propose that His Majesty's consul be instructed to assess losses on the lines of the principles laid down in 1901 (see "Affaires de Chine, Négociations de Pékin, 1900-1902," pp. 73-75).
2. Punishment of officials and gentry responsible. I have promised to furnish the Wai-wu Pu with such information as I possess on this subject, but have intimated to them privately that I should much prefer that the Chinese Government should of its own free will adequately punish those really responsible for the disturbances, and not confine its efforts to executing the dupes who took part in the rioting.
3. Settlement of certain outstanding questions connected with Changsha. They mostly concern the port area and the exclusion of the city therefrom, the Changsha Land Regulations, and similar matters.
Have I your authorisation to do what I can to obtain a settlement on the above lines, acting so far as possible in accord with my colleagues interested in the Changsha riots, and especially with the Japanese Minister?
[2751 s-6]
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.