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distinguished may have been the services of his colleagues.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
This is the first time, I think, I have male either in speech or writing any report, or any- thing like a report, on the work of the Per- manent Committee as a whole. As Chairman I have reported very fully on the services rendered by all those who served with us and served under us. I have been strongly urged to prepare and send in a general repo t, but I have shrunk from it as it would have seemed like reporting on my own work, work done freely, voluntarily and without a thought, at the time, of anything beyond serving the colony, in which I have lived so long, to the very best of my ability. I apologise for speaking so much of myself now, but there are times when it becomes a duty to speak out, and I think my fellow-citizens will forgive me for doing so now, in justification of their recommendations to Her Majesty's Go- verument on my behalf.
I propose to publish your Excellency's letter, the needful extract from the Public Committee's letter of the 3rd December last, and this my letter in reply. I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedicut, humble servant, His Excellency Sir William Robinson, K.C.M.G.,
Governor of Hongkong.
**
JNO. J. FRANCIS.
THE “TAIYUAN AND FORFAIT
AFFAIR.
>
The following correspondence has been for- warded to us for publication
Hongkong, Colonial Secretary's Office,
11th April, 1895. Gentlemen. With reference to my letter No. 2146 of the 31st October last, I am directed to trausmit for your information the enclosed copy of a memorandum from the French Minister for Foreign Affairs relative to the incident which occurred in October last between the French craiser Forfait and the British steamship Taiyuan upon the high seas. I have the honour to be, gentlemen, your most obedient servant.
J. G. T. BUCKLE,
p. Colonial Secretary. Messrs. Butterfield & Swire, &c., &c., &c.
MEMORANDUM.
D'après une communication du Consul de France à Hongkong, les autorités de cette ville out été saisies, au mois d'ctobre dernier, d'un incident survenu en mer entre le croiseur fran- çais Forfait et le steamer anglais Taiyuan,
The articles published in the Hongkong news papers on the subject report that, without any apparent reason and without any warning, the Forfait fired twice at the Taiyuan.
[June 6, 1895.
"She constantly altered her route and speed. -The following are the courses steered, as may be seen in log book, As 8.0 a.m. the course was made S. 45 deg. W., at 1.0. p.m. it was altered to S. 40 deg. W., and this was steered till 3.12 p.m., when the course S 45 deg. W. was resumed again. In seven hours (7) the course was altered once and then 5 deg. only. The speed was the same, namely, our ordinary full speed, until the second gun was fired, when I tele graphed 'stand by,' at 1.15 half speed, at 1.20
full speed.'
The Minister of Foreign Affairs having ap- plied to the Minister of Marine for a report on the affair has had communicated to him a report by the Commandant of the Forfait. It appears from the explanations given by this officer that the Taiyuan had Chinese characters on her sides; that the name on her stern was not seen; that she hoisted 10 flag; and that, while in the neigh-
"Watched the officers of the Forfait with bourhood of the cruiser, she constantly altered her direction and speed and that her people incæplicable persistence. This was owing to the watched with an inexplicable persistance the evidently strong efforts being made by the the Forfait. Iu view of this Forfait to overtake the Taiyuan and by a natural officers of behaviour and of the persistence of the Tai- interest on what was virtually a race-os what For as I have before yuan in not showing her colours in spite of the Forfait made a race. the care taken by the Forfait to display hers, said, she was at 8 a.m. several miles to seaward and came inshore of us for some other the Commander of the French cruiser fired two blank charges at her from a revolving cannon purpose than the requirements of navigation at with an interval of five minutes. The Taiyuan that place.
No menace "Pretence of charging a cannon' still obstinately refusing to hoist her flag, the
of this kind was seen by any one on board Forfait closed into her to a distance of about 100 metres and made a pretence of loading a gun. It steamer Taiyuan and if made was unnecessary, was only this last threat that induced the
as my signal 'What is the matter and our Taiyuan at last to show her colours, which, to the great astonishment of the officers of the cruiser, were the British flag.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs thinks it well, from all points of view, to bring these facts to the knowledge of his Excellency the English
Ambassador.
Hongkong, 18th April, 1895. Sir-We have to thank you for your letter the 11th inst. No. 746, enclosing a Memorandum from the French Minister of Foreign Affairs relative to the incident which occurred in Octo- ber last, between the French cruiser Forfait and the C. N. Co.'s steamer Taiyuan, for which we are Agents, upon the high seas.
This letter reached us most opportuuely; the Taiyuan being in this Harbour, we were able to submit the memorandum to Capt. Nelson. He replies as follows, in a letter to us which is signed also by the Chief Engineer and the officer on watch. We may add that if confirma- tion be necessary the Chief Officer's log is in our possession, and the official log, which was de- posited with the Harbour Master, can be in- spected on application :-
"The explanation given by the French author- ities of the action of the French war vessel Forfait firing two guus in the direction of the steamer Taiyuan at sea on 30th October, 1894, I consider very insufficient and unsatisfactory.
"You are already in possession of the facts of the case as reported by me to you by letter. It will therefore only be necessary for me now to go over some points of the explanation.
$64
of us,
time the second gun was fired, and therefore if sign were hoisted within five minutes from the made it was not seen on board Taiyuan and had no effect upon my conduct.
"If the cruiser Forfait was within (100) ong hundred metres, the people on board with the aid of an ordinary glass shonld have been able to read Loudon upon Taiyuan's stern and need not have been astonished to find that our ensign was British.
The officers of steamer Taiyuan were very much astonished at the action of the Forfait in firing two guns before any signal had been made and that none was made until my signal What is the matter' and our ensign had been boisted. Then the French vessel hoisted * Show your ensign,' which certainly should have been hoisted before any guns were fired."
•
We were quite prepared to let the matter drop, but the incidents reported by the commander of the Forfait are so greatly at variance with the facts that we are compelled to record them. We have to ask that the matter be again referred to the Foreign Office for transmission to the proper quarters.
We will be glad to learn by which mail the particulars are forwarded.—We have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servants,
BUTTERFI LD & SWIRE,
Agents, China Navigation Co.'s steamer Taiyuan,
Hou: J. H. Stewart Lockhart,
Colonial Secretary.
Colonial Secretary's Office. Hongkong, 22nd April, 1895, Gentlemen, I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 18th instant Minister for Foreign Affairs regarding the relative to the explanation given by the French action of the cruiser Forfait towards the British steamship Taiyuan, and to state that a copy of it will be forwarded to the Secretary of State by next mail-I have the honour to be, gentle-
J. H. STEWart LockhART. men, your most obedient servant,
Colonial Secretary.
·
Les articles publiés à ce sujet par les journaux do Hongkong rapportent que sans motifs ap parents et sans avertissement prealable, le For fait aurait tiré coups de canon contre le Taiyuan.
Le Ministre des Affaires Etrangères ayant Taiyuan carried Chinese characters on her demandé au Ministre de la Marine de lui faire sides.'—This is not the case; there are not, and parvenir des renseignements sur cette affaire, never have been, any Chinese characters on any vient de recevoir communication d'un rapport part of the hull of the 'Taiyuan.” du commandant du Forait. Il resulte des They could not see her name astern. This eclaircissements fonruis par cet officier supérieur is very singular, and to show the legibility of fcan, from the deck of the Taiyuan, que le Taiyuan portait des caractères chinois the name sur les côtés, qu'on n'apercevait pas son nom a where she is at present moored to the Co's l'arrière qu'il n'avait pas hisse le pavillon, et Eastern buoy in Hongkong Harbour, read the que, naviguant dans le voisinage du croiseur, il name of the Changsha (a sister vessel to mine) modifiait constamment sa route et sa vitesse moored to the O. 3. S. Co.'s Eastern buoy, with son personnel observait avec an ordinary ship's telescope, the letters of the que insistance inexplicable les officiers du Forfuit. Changsha's name being the same size as those
dlo cette présence
attitude, de of the Taiyuan, and the distance between these la persistance du Taiyuan à no pas montrer ses buoys being greater, or at any rate certainly Messrs. Butterfield & Swire, &o, &c., &o. couleurs, malgré le soin évident que le Forfait not less, than that between the Forfait and mettait à deployer les siennes, le commandaut | Taiyuan at the time of the incident.
The name Taiyuan on the port side of the du croiseur français fit tirer sur lui à blanc deux
on the coups de canon revolver, espacés de 5 minutes. flat of the stern and the port London' Lo Taiyuan s'obstinent né:umoins à ne pas starboard side are composed of brass letters (8′′) arborer le pavillon, le Forfait se rapprocha à 100 eight inches high, (6′′) six inches wide, and (14) métres de lui, et dnt faire le simulacre de charger one and a half inches thick, and are raised half un canon, Cette mesure d'intimidation put an inch; these letters being painted yellow and seule décider le Taiyuan ǹ hisser enfin ses cou- being on the black bull are very distinct. The leurs, qui au grand étonnement des officiers du stern was also well above water, as the ship was drawing aft 18 feet, her loaded draft being 11 croiseur, étaient celle du pavillon anglais.
feet aft.
let
En
et
1111
E11
SOCIETE DES CHARBONNAGES DU
TONKIN.
The annual meeting of the shareholders of this Company was held on Friday afternoon at the offices. Victoria Buildings. On the motion of Mr. M. Grote M. Bavier Chaffour was voted to the chair, and there were also present--Hon. C. P. Chafer, Hon. J. J. Bell-Irving, Messr H. N. Le Ministre des Affaires Etrangères crut
Mody, A. Shelton Hooper, D. R. Sassoon, M. A. "Had not hoisted her flag.'-This was cer- devoir, à toutes fius utiles, donner connaissance do cos faits à son Excellence M. l'Ambassadeurtainly not flying at the time, as it is not usual Sassoou, T. E. Sansom, R. Rustomjee, S. S. for merchant vessels to fly the ensign at sea, and Benjamin, J. S. Ezekiel, E. S. Kelly, E. Georg, d'Angleterre.
there was no reason to do so. may say, how-T. I. Rose, Dorabjee Nowrojee, P. Jordan, J. M. ever, that it had been hoisted when passing G. Manuk, M. Grote. A. G. Morris, G. H. Chapel Island at 9.52 that morning, and was Potts, J. Y. V. Vernon, R. M. Moses, Peston- hauled down again. As we had seen the French jee, P. Broderson, and Mr. R. B. Joyce (Secre- vessel's ensign for more than an hour previous tary). to this, it is evident that our ensign could at that time have been seen by those on board the Forfait.
(Translation.)
According to a communication received from the French Consul at Hongkong, the local au- thorities were investigating, during the month of October last, an incident that happened at sea between the French cruiser Forfait and the English steamer Taiyuan.
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After the usual formalities had been gone through, the CHAIRMAN announced that the number of shares represented was 4,290, or
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