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substance of your comments on the work we had so far accomplished, we again referred to a sub-committee of our respective experts, Mr. Teichman and Mr. Hsu Mo, the task of seeking common ground in regard to the various additions and amendments which you desired to see incorporated in the texts of the articles so far dealt with. I also took the opportunity of introducing some new material to be worked on, including the text of our draft of an article limiting the transfer of jurisdiction to the modern law courts, except for certain classes of minor cases to be entrusted to the police courts, all being still subject to a general reservation of criminal jurisdiction.
Progress made and agreed Texts of March 27.
16. Once again we were able to make good progress, and, following on the detailed discussions between Mr. Hsu Mo and Mr. Teichman which took place on the 26th March, and a further meeting between Dr. Wang and myself on the 27th March, I was in a position to submit to you by telegraph on the evening of the same day, just under three weeks from the opening of negotiations on the 8th March, agreed texts of articles and attached documents covering the following subjects:-
Transfer of jurisdiction only to the modern law courts and limitation of
police jurisdiction.
Appearance in court of foreign lawyers and arrangements for interpretation. Establishment of special chambers to take jurisdiction over British subjects. Functions and powers of foreign legal counsellors to be attached to the
special chambers.
Guarantees in regard to taxation.
Provision for arbitration,
Rights in immovable property.
Immunity of premises.
Assurances in regard to military requisitions and forced loans.
Rights of companies.
Arrangements in regard to pending cases. Non-discriminatory treatment.
British-protected persons.
Points still Outstanding, March 27.
17. Agreement having been reached, ad referendum to our respective Governments, on the above points, there still remained oustanding, apart from evocation and criminal jurisdiction, which I was prepared to throw in at the right moment, the following subjects:-
Safeguards in connexion with arrests, imprisonment and trial;
Personal status cases;
Immunities for shipping;
Reserved areas;
Rights of residence;
Abrogation of conflicting clauses in existing treaties;
Publication and translation of codes;
Authoritative text;
Duration; and
Ratification.
Progress in reaching agreement on a number of the legal safeguards had been unexpectedly good, thanks largely to the tactical advantage gained at the outset by which the detailed negotiations concerning these legal safeguards had proceeded without prejudice to the major issues, and on the general under- standing that the more complete the satisfaction the Chinese were able to give us on these points the more likely were His Majesty's Government to be influenced in their attitude towards the major issues. Of these main questions, the foreign co-judges had by now been "traded in " to secure satisfactory arrangements in regard to the legal counsellors; and evocation, though still theoretically in hand as far as we were concerned, had, in fact, been jettisoned before our negotiations began by the Americans and the French. There remained, therefore, only criminal jurisdiction and excluded areas, and it had throughout been my
intention at the psychological moment to seek to use the former as a lever by offering to surrender it in return for the latter, Of the other important
outstanding points, we had so far made no progress in regard to personal status cases and immunities for shipping. As regards the former, I was still holding out for complete reservation, while the Chinese were likewise adhering to their original proposal that in such cases the Chinese courts would apply British law. As regards the latter, the Chinese having taken strong exception to our draft, and more especially to the implication, which they professed to read into it, of the continuance of existing rights of cabotage, I was awaiting your instructions, as, in view of the importance of this article, I was not prepared to discuss any modifications without your authority. The remaining outstanding points had not yet been seriously discussed.
Suspension of Negotiations over Easter: Offer of Criminal Jurisdiction for
Reserved Areas.
18. At this point, as Easter was approaching and the Minister for Foreign Affairs was
proceeding to Shanghai for a few days at the beginning of April to welcome the King of Siam on his way through, it seemed better, while awaiting your further instructions, to suspend the negotiations for a brief period to enable both Governments to take stock of the situation. I accordingly arranged to return to Peking over the Easter holidays. I decided, however, that, before leaving, the time had come to put my cards on the table in regard to our attitude towards criminal jurisdiction and excluded areas, and I accordingly sought a private interview alone with the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the 30th March, when, in the course of a general conversation on a variety of subjects, I broached the question of extra-territoriality. Having suitably broken the ice, I led up to my point, and put it to him that, if I could induce His Majesty's Government to give up criminal jurisdiction (subject, of course, to the necessary legal safeguards in regard to arrest, imprisonment, trial, and so on), would he agree to the four excluded areas we required? Dr. Wang replied by saying that he would be equally frank with me. Not only had the Central Political Council definitely decided that China could not give way on any of the four major issues, but any compromise with us over the matter of reserved areas would weaken their position in dealing with similar demands from other Powers, whose policy, unlike ours, which he and his Government fully realised was a bona fide trade one and nothing more, had ulterior political objectives in view. Finally, however, he offered to consider, for submission to his Government, the reservation of the International Settlement at Shanghai, but of that area alone. This, I insisted, was not enough, and finally we left it for the time being at that, namely, that I had offered to recommend to His Majesty's Government the abandonment of criminal jurisdic- tion in return for our four reserved areas Shanghai, Tientsin, Hankow and Canton and that he on his side had offered me Shanghai alone for an as yet unstated period, which I was unable to accept.
Conversation with Admiral Chen on April 1.
19.
Three days later, on the 2nd April, I left Nanking to return to Peking cver Easter. On the eve of my departure I had, however, the opportunity of further private discussions with members of the Chinese Government-and it may be noted that much of the work throughout these negotiations has been accomplished and the results obtained in such informal conversations. On the afternoon of the 1st April I received a visit from Admiral Chen, Vice-Minister of Marine and close confidant of President Chiang Kai-shek, who had just taken me for a cruise in one of his warships to the Chusan Islands and Nimrod Sound. I had already, during that cruise, taking advantage of our very friendly and intimate personal relations, discussed privately and very frankly with the admiral the problem of extra-territoriality, and impressed on him the necessity of China moderating her demands if we were to reach a settlement of this difficult and complicated question, with special reference to the excluded areas. The admiral now told me that he had reported what I had said to the President, who had fully understood my point. In view of the opening thus afforded me, and knowing in what close contact Admiral Chen was with General Chiang Kai-shek, the opportunity seemed too good to lose, and I decided to adopt the unusual course of taking the admiral further into my confidence, in the hope that he might thus
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