CO129-468 - Governor Sir Stubbs - 1921 [6-8] — Page 515

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cannot fail to be drawn between Weihaiwei and Tsingtao as

it was in the time of the German occupation, and, though

of course I would not suggest the expenditure of anything

approaching the enormous sums which the Germans lavished on

their leased territory, I venture to think that it is the

duty of Great Britain to endeavour to develop the territory entrusted to her and that if, by the expenditure of a reasonable sum of money, an object-lesson can be given to

China of the benefits of a stable and honest administration

the result will be not only to render a service to

civilization and to international trade but to advance the

interests and enhance the prestige of Great Britain in the

Far East.

3. It appears to me, so far as I am able to

judge from so limited a knowledge of the country, that during his long administration Sir James Lockhart has done

all that it was possible to do with the means at his disposal

to develop the territory, Order is maintained; serious

crime is practically non-existent; the people appear

contented and moderately prosperous, considering the

natural poverty of the country; the island and the town of Port Edward are clean and healthy; roads, somewhat primitive

but adequate for the existing traffic, have been constructed into the interior. Trade, of which there was practically

none when the territory was taken over, has grown until the

combined value of imports and exports exceeded eight

million dollars in each of the years 1918 and 1919 · figure which probably represents the maximum obtainable in present circumstances.

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4. Whether, in any case, the trade of Weihaiwei is capable of any large development is a matter of some doubt; what admits of no doubt is that under existing conditions no such development can be expected. A fatal obstacle is the uncertainty of the British tenure of the

territory.

Under