CO129-416 - Public Offices - 1914 — Page 247

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No. 61*.

(No 240.) Sir,

Mr. Alston to Sir Edward Grey.(Received June 23.)

WITH reference to Sir John Jordan's despatch No. 121 of the 27th March last, I

Peking, June 7, 1913. have the honour to forward to you herewith copies of further correspondence with the Wai-chiao Pu, concerning the regulations for the election to the National Assembly of deputies to represent Chinese resident abroad.

Enclosure 1 in No. 61*.

I have, &c.

B. ALSTON,

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Memorandum communicated to Sir J. Jordan by Wai-chiao Pu.

THE Wai-chiao Pu has the honour to acknowledge receipt of Sir John Jordan's letter of the 27th March to the effect that he had been instructed by His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to inform the Chinese Government that His Majesty's Government entertained strong objections to the policy of the regulations issued for the election of representatives to the National Assembly by Chinese resident in British colonies.

The Ministry forwarded the above communication to the bureau for the organisation of Parliament, and has now received the following reply from the latter:-

As

"The reason for the election (of representatives) of Chinese resident abroad is to be found in the repeated demands, owing to their affection for the mother country, of citizens of the Chinese Republic who have settled in various parts of the world for this right, for which they applied to the Government and the (provincial) Assemblies. Hence the National Council decided upon the method of election by them of senators. Each Chamber of Commerce of Chinese settlers abroad was permitted to elect one elector, these representatives to form the Chinese Settlers' Election Association.' the latter was to be formed at the seat of the Government of the Republic, its formation by its members was a matter concerning the internal government of China, and did not conflict with the sovereign rights of the countries in which its members were settled. As for the word election,' it was merely the universal custom of public nomination which was employed. Article 22 of the Detailed Rules for the Election of Senators shows clearly the intention of the method adopted. The public nomination by the settlers was similar to the custom of public nomination of suitable officers as chairmen of associations, guilds, bureaux, and societies which has existed for many years. Until the arrival of the nominees at Peking and the formation of the association, their status was simply that of the customary representatives of Chinese settlers; they could not be considered either as members of the association or as electors.

"To sum up, inasmuch as the election by Chinese settlers took place at the seat of Government of the Republic, it does not affect the sovereign rights of the countries in which they were settled. As for the members of the Chinese Settlers' Election Association, they were nominated according to the custom previously existing in the case of chairmen of associations, &c., and the formal method of election was not employed. Thus a difference existed (between the method employed) and that in use in China for the election of administrative officials, and for this reason it is still more clear that the method employed did not injure the sovereign rights of the countries in which the Chinese settlers lived."

It appears to the Wai-chiao Pu from the above that it is clearly explained that the election (of representatives) of Chinese settlers abroad does not injure Great Britain's right of governing her dependencies. The Ministry trusts Sir J. Jordan will com- municate the contents of the above to His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs for his information.

Peking, May 16, 1913.

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(Seal of the Minister for Foreign Affairs.)

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