Sessional_Paper_1899 — Page 558

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Nearly all the persons mentioned in the list have fled. Not having yet visited Fan Ling and neighbourhood, I do not know whether the persons from that district whose names are mentioned have fled, but all the persons in the list from this neighbourhood have disappeared with the exception of TANG TS'ING-WAN, NG K'I- CH'EUNG, and TANG LÓ-PAN, who are here at present. I propose to make them find security that they will appear or be produced whenever called upon.

A regulation should be passed by the Governor-in-Council at once giving the Colonial Secretary power to summon people before him and to fine those who do not appear when summoner, and another regulation should also be passed without delay conferring upon the Colonial Secretary power to make people find security when called upon to do so. It is important that there should be no delay in having these regulations made forthwith. I have been compelled, in the absence of the necessary legal power, to act on my own responsibility.

The leaders in the movement should be dealt with severely. Any leniency shown would be misunderstood. Their property should be confiscated and the proceeds applied to public purposes. As No Ki-cu'EUNG, TANG LÓ-PAN, and TANG TSING-WAN have not run away, but remained behind, and given us im- portant assistance, I think it would be sufficient in their case if they are made to find security for their future good behaviour, I have already obtained bonds (which are not legal) for the production of TANG Ló-PAN and NG K'T-CH'EUNG whenever demanded.

From NG K'I-CHEUNG'S statement it appears that men from the following places in Chinese territory took part in the resistance :-

Sha T'au at the head of Deep Bay.

Sham Chun.

Wai Tak

Ngán Tin

Tung Kun District.

It is difficult to ascertain exactly how many men came from those places, but I have every reason to believe that there must have been over one thousand. It is quite impossible for the officers of the Chinese Government not to have known of the movements of so many men into our territory, and I trust the Viceroy will be brought to book. His attitude of hostility in the matter of the Customs and his failure to give any warning of the movement in the territory under his jurisdic- tion, should not be allowed to pass unpunished.

Among the documents found in the Un Long meeting-house is a letter ad- dressed by one of the underlings of Major Fong to NG K'I-CH'EUNG [No. IX]. I would especially call attention to the following sentence in that letter:-"All "other particulars you will know fully when you see Major FoNG, who will not "in any way use force, but will freely allow all the villages to carry out their own "settled plans."

NG K'I-CH'EUNG informs me that by the sentence in italics he understood that the villages could do what they liked. He says he never saw Major FONG, but that TANG I-SHEK went to see him at Sham Chun. TANG I- SHEK has been one of the ringleaders in the movement and NG K'I-CH'EUNG in- forms me that TANG I-SHEK left this territory for Nam T'au on the 14th April and on the same day went to Sham Chun to see Major FONG. Next day he went to Canton to petition the Viceroy and Governor. If he did present a petition, it would be interesting to obtain a copy of that document.

J. H. STEWART LOCKHART,

Colonial Secretary.

ENCLOSURE No. 1 IN COLONIAL SECRETARY'S MINUTE OF THE 24TH APRIL, 1899.

I.

(Translation of Written Statement of Ng K'i-ch'eung, dated 21st April, 1899.)

On the 17th day of the 2nd moon (28th March), Mr. MAY, Captain Superin- tendent of Police, came to Ping Shán to look for a site to erect a building and wished to construct a Police Station on Po Kau Hill (ie., the hill immediately behind the village of Ping Shán). The inhabitants of Ping Shán made a fuss saying that the building would affect the Fung Shui of the place. Crowds of people gathered at the house of TANG YING-SHANG and abused him. On the morning of the 18th, i.e., 29th March, the elders of the clan TANG CH'IU-I, TANG FONG-HING, TANG TS'ING-WAN, TANG KW'AN-SHAN, TANG LUI-SHANG and TANG A-LAN assembled at Ha Ts'ün. When they met in the ancestral temple there the following