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Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, Hongkong, 2nd March, 1896. Sir-Referring again to the case of Mr. John Andrew at Wuchow-fu, I beg to enclose herewith copy of a letter received from him, dated the 18th alt.. from which it will be seen that the Wuchow authorities while issuing a proclamation (translation of which is also enclosed) nominally authorising native mer- chants to trade freely with him, completely nullify that permission by stating that lekin and Customs dues will be enforced on the goods reaching native hands.
In consequence of this communication, my Committee on Saturday despatched the fol- lowing telegram to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs:
(See above letter.)
I have. &c..
R. CHATTERTON WILCOX,
Secretary.
His Excellency W. N. Beanclerk,
H.B.M.'s Chargé d'Affaires, Peking.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, Hongkong, 2nd March, 1896. Dear Sir, I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 18th February and of the Prefect's proclamation, which has been traus- lated for this Chamber.
My Committee, in consequence of the in- formation contained in your letter, telegraphed on the 29th February as follows to the Secre- tary of State for Foreign Affairs :-
(See above letter.)
Trusting that you will soon be relieved from your present irksome position,-I am, &c.,
R. CHATTERTON WILCOX,
Secretary.
John Andrew, Esq., Wuchow.
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
Hongkong, 2nd March, 1896.
Dear Sir,-In consequence of a letter received from Mr. John Andrew under date 18th ult. enclosing copy of a Proclamation issued by the Prefect the previous day, so worded as to effectually nullify the ostensible concession made, my Committee on Saturday despatched the following telegram to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs:-
(See above letter.)
I have notified Mr. Andrew of the action taken, and beg you will kindly have the letter, which I take the liberty to enclose, kindly for- warded to him.---I am, &c.
R. CHATTELTON WILCOX, Secretary.
E. H. Fraser Esq..
H. B. M's Acting Consul, Canton.
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
Hongkong. 3rd March, 1896. My Lord Marquess-I had the honour, on behalf of this Chamber, to despatch to your Lordship on the 29th ultimo the following telegram:-
Marquess Salisbury. London. Sale goods "British merchant Andrew obstructed "Wuchow-fu. West River. Chamber
Beauclerk's efforts were successful in obtaining some action, for on the 17th ultimo the Prefect of Wuchow issued a proclamation nominally sanctioning trade with Mr. Andrew, but the document was so worded (translation of same enclosed, together with copy of Mr. Andrew's covering letter of 18th ult.) that not one of the native traders would venture to take a single package.
[March 26, 1896.
The Viceroy, in a despatch received yester- day, defends the proclamation, which he asserts to be in accordance with the Tsungli Yamên's instructions. His Excellency further declares that, once transit pass goods have reached the destination mentioned in the pass and been sold to Chinese, foreigners cannot interfere, no matter what dues are levied on them.
This declaration has been telegraphed to Peking and reports will be forwarded to the Foreign Office, H.M.'s Legation, and the Hongkong Government.
As this case is one in which there is clear and actual proof of the manner in which for many years past the officials of the Two Kwang have effectually prevented foreign merchants availing themselves of the privileges granted by Art. XXVIII. of the Treaty of Tientsin, my Committee desire me to respectfully solicit your Lordship's particular attention to the facts, and to express a hope that it may influence negotiations for the opening up of the West River to foreign trade and steamer navigation. | R. Chatterton Wilcox, Esq., Secretary, Hong- -I have, &c,,
kong General Chamber of Commerce.
A. MCCONACHIE, Chairman. The Most Noble The Marquess of Salisbury,
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
Hongkong, 3rd March, 1896. Sir, I have the honour to forward, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, copy of a letter addressed by this Chamber to the noble lord the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in continuation of the telegram des- patched on the 29th ult. in reference to the case of Mr. John Andrew at Wuchow.-I have, &c.,
R. CHATTERTON WILCOX,
Secretary.
Hon. J. H. Stewart Lockhart,
Colonial Secretary.
16
Telegram.
"From H. M. Minister, Peking.
To Chamber of Commerce.
Am representing matter to Chinese Govern.
ment.
"21st January, 1896."
Your letter to Mr. Andrew has been posted to that gentleman, who reports, under date February 29th, that, though the Wuchow dealers are not friendly, they dare not even warehouse his goods.-I am, &c.,
E. H. FRASER,
Acting Consul,
Wuchowfu, 11th March, 1896. Dear Sir, I have received your letter of 2nd instant and beg to return my best thanks to your Committee for the prompt and power. ful telegram sent by your chairman to Her Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in reference to the detention of myself and sale of my goods here.
I have received a letter from Acting Consul I now beg to inform your Committee that
Fraser dated Canton, 4th instant, in which he says
14
To my remonstrance against the wording of the Prefect's proclamation the Viceroy re- plied yesterday defending the proclamation as in accordance with the instructions of the Tsungli Yamen, and asserting that once transit pass goods have reached the destination mentioned in the pass and been sold to Chinese the foreign merchant cannot interfere, no matter what dues are levied on them.”
"I telegraphed His Excellency's statements to Peking last night and hope that the Viceroy, to whom I am pointing out the illegality of any differential levy on transit pass goods, will be instructed to have a satisfactory proclamation issued without further delay.”
I trust your Committee will continue to give vital importance to British commerce being at this matter their valuable support-a matter of
stake.-I am, &c.,
JOHN ANDREW,
R. Chatterton Wilcox, Esq.,
Secretary, Hongkong General Chamber
of Commerce, Hongkong.
Peking, 16th February, 1896. Sir, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd January respecting the interference of the Chinese authorities with the sale of British goods conveyed to Wuchow-fu under transit pass.
Translation.) Proclamation by Chang. Prefect of Wuchow-fu.
The above goes clearly to prove that the The British merchant Andrew has lately im- ported some goods into Wuchow. I [the Prefect has been acting all along under the Prefect] have already examined the same and Viceroy's instructions, and my case is complete as far as documentary evidence is concerned. allowed them to pass, leaving him [the said merchant] to bargain and trade with our mer..he transit pass question is now brought to a distinct head and the matter rests entirely with chants and people as they please. The said foreign merchant, in consequence of some
Her Majesty's Minister at Peking whether he will or not insist upon carrying out the treaty. steamers [steam-launches] coming from the eastern provinces [Tung] has petitioned for a Proclamation to stop the same, saying that they are meant to frighten and put a stop to [trade. But the real facts are that these steamers have already returned to the east, and did not come because of the European mer- chant selling goods here. I have now received a telegram from the Governor-Gen. eral, directing me to devise ways and means to I have have this matter properly settled. therefore deemed it a fitting matter to issue this Proclamation. This is therefore to inform you [Chinese merchants and people of all classes that if you are desirous of buying European goods you can deal with European merchants as you think fit. With regard to the para- graph in the treaty about China being at Your Lordship will doubtless ere this be in liberty to take steps herself to prevent frauds receipt of the particulars of this case from and the like language they have nothing to do H.M.'s Chargé d'Affaires at Peking and it with European merchants at all. The trans- may now suffice to briefly recapitulate the facts.portation of goods by Europeau merchants is
About two months ago Mr. Jolm Andrew, a British merchant, left Cautou in a native boat full of piece-goods, for which he had taken out a transit pass, and proceeded up the West River to Wuchow-fu. On arrival there he exhibited his pass to the local authorities, and then com- menced business, very quickly disposing of a portion of his cargo to native traders. The next day, however, these buyers informed Mr. Andrew that they dare not take delivery of the goods. They had been intimidated, Sir, I beg to acknowledge receipt of your and said they could not complete their pur-letter of the 2nd instant acquainting me with chases unless a proclamation were issued by the the telegram which your Chamber has sent to A. McConachie, Esq., Hongkong. authorities. Representations to the Acting British Consul at Canton followed, who in turn laid the case before the Viceroy. That official flatly denied the intimidation, but would do nothing to assist the merchant. The case was then carried to Peking, where presumably Mr.
Commerce earnestly submits case merits vigorous action. Letter follows, Me- "Conachie, Chairman.”
allowed by treaty, and you people need not therefore suspect that they are offending against the law. After the goods have been trans- ferred to the Chinese merchants then lekin taxes and Customs dues will be charged according to regulations. Do not disobey this. A special Proclamation.
H.B.M. Casulate, Canton, 4th March, 1896.
the Marquess of Salisbury.
The Prefect's proclamation, translation of which is enclosed, was telegraphed in Chinese to H.M.'s Chargé d'Affaires on the 23rd Febru- ary, and a remonstrance was addressed to the Viceroy the following day.
The question has formed the subject of cor- respondence and frequent discussion between myself and the Tsungli Yamên, and on the 12th instant I received a written assurance that the Viceroy at Canton would be instructed to have a proclamation issued at Wuchow-fu, clearly explaining to the people that they are at perfect liberty to purchase transit pass goods.
I have telegraphed this information to Her Majesty's Consul at Canton, and await his report of the result before taking further action in the matter.
As to the opening of the West River, to which you allude in the concluding paragraph of your letter, I beg to assure you that the ques- tion continues to receive the closest attention. -I am, &c.,
W. BEAUCLERK.
TELEGRAPH RATES TO THE EAST. Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, Hongkong, 6th March, 1896. Dear Sir, The question of the rates charged for telegraphing between this port and Japan,
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