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September 10, 1898.]
Marquis Salisbury, London.-Hongkong Chamber Commerce strenuously urges Government insist absolute freedom from Chinese Customs and jurisdiction whole Kowloon extension territory including city. Anything less renders situation most unsatisfactory leading to endless com. plications.-GRAY, Chairman."
I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient
servant,
R. CHATTERton Wilcox.
Secretary:
To Hon. T. Secombe Smith, Acting Colonial
Secretary.
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
Hongkong 9th July, 1898.
Sir, I have the honour to forward to you a despatch, in triplicate, addressed by this Cham- ber to the most noble the Marquis of Salisbury, Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, following up telegram of the 16th inst., which my Committee respectfully beg His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government to kindly transmit, through the usual channel, by German mail-I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant, R. CHATTERTON WILCOX, Secretary. To Hon. T. Sercombe Smith, Acting Colonial
Secretary.
THE CHAMBER TO THE MARQUIS OF SALISBURY,
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
Hongkong 19th July, 1898.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
the city of Victoria some twelve years ago. There is, in the Committee's opinion, a well founded impression that the natural growth of the native distributing trade of the colony is restricted by the action of the customs, and they had hoped that, with the extension of the colony's frontiers, the Customs stations and their control office would have been relegated to the Chinese border, and thas leave Hongkong in fact, as in name, a free port of trade.
inst.:-
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Marquis Salisbury, London.-Hongkong Chamber Commerce strenuously urges Go- vernment insist absolute freedom from Chinese Customs and jurisdiction whole Kowloon extension territory including city. Anything less renders situhtion most un- satisfactory, leading to endless com plica- "tions.-GRAY, Chairman."
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THE CHAMBER TO THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT.
215
Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce, Hongkong, 12th August, 1898, Sir.-In view of the extension of territory acquired by the Convention of the 9th June Ï am instructed by the Committee of the Cham- ber to lay before the Government their opinion on the question of the Chinese Imperial Mari- Being persuaded that the question was one
time Customs vis-à-vis this colony. The Com- of urgent and pressing importance, my Committee believe that some understanding was mittee deemed it advisable to despatch the fol-given to the effect that the extension of the lowing telegram to your Lordship on the 10th
boundaries should not prove a source of loss to the Chinese Revenue, and they quite concur in ' the desire to assist the Chinese Government in the matter, so long as it can be done without hampering the trade, or impeding the develop- ment of the colony, the future prospects of which, with enlarged boundaries, on its present basis of absolute freedom, are very promising. To secure their fulfilment, however, it should, in the first place, be laid down that the exist-` ing Customs Stations must be removed to Chinese territory outside the colony's bound- aries and that the harbour be jealously guarded from the intrusion of Chinese Revenue craft of any description. The delays and obstructions to the movements of shipping, were the Chinese Customs allowed a free hand in our water, would constitute a serious inter- ference with that freedom which has mainly contributed to build up the present prosperity would be impossible to have that free commuui. of this port. Without such provision, too, it cation and interchange of produce between Victoria and the outlying additions to the Colony which may naturally be expected to develop.
15
In conclusion, my Committee venture to re- gret that, in a matter so nearly affecting the interests of this colony, no opportunity bas been hitherto afforded to the residents of learn ing the provisions of the convention or of ex- pressing an opinion thereon.-I have the honour to be, my Lord Marquis, your Lordship's most obedient servant,
R. M. GRAY,
Chairman.
To the Most Noble the Marquis of Salisbury, K.G., Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
THE COLONIAL SECRETARY TO THE
CHAMBER.
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 19th July, 1898. Sir, I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th instant, to which an oral answer has been given.-I have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant.
T. SERCOMBE SMITH, Acting Colonial Secretary.
MY LORD MARQUIS,—I had the honour to address your Lordship on the 5th and 11th May last on the necessity of the extension of the ter- ritorial limits of this colony and my Committee have since learned, with no little relief, that the efforts of Her Majesty's Minister at Peking in this behalf have been so far successful that a convention was signed on the 9th June under which the territory in question has been leased to Great Britain for a period of ninety-nine years. While, however, gladly expressing their appreciation of the energy displayed in the in- terests of the colouy, my Committee never!!c- less feel compelled to take strong exception to one stipulation in the convention as published- to the effect that “within the native city of Kow-
Colonial Secretary's Office, loon the Chinese officials now stationed there
Hongkong, 20th July, 1898. shall continue to exercise jurisdiction", and they
Sir, I beg to acknowledge receipt of your beg respectfully to indicate some of the effects communication of yesterday enclosing a letter to be apprehended therefrom, if it be adhered to for transmission to the Marquess of Salisbury.
As your Lordship is well aware, the city of Kowloon is situated close to the existing boun-to-day's German mail.—I have the honour to be, The letter in question has been forwarded by daries of British Kowloon, and is virtually a port within the limits of the harbour of Hong-sir, your most obedient servant. kong.
The city, though small and commercially in- significant, has from the very foundation of this colony been a moral danger owing to its having afforded an asylum to defaulters, gam- blers, and criminals of all kinds, while its in- sanitary condition constitutes it a menace to the physical health of Hongkong.
A further consideration, and one of no little importance, is the fact that if the city with its water frontage be allowed to remain in the hands of native officials. Chinese vessels could presumably claim the right to lie off its fore- share, and would thus afford a pretext for the Chinese revenue cruisers to exercise their powers within the limits of Hongkong harbour. It is therefore, as your Lordship will per- ceive, not without cause that the public of this colony view with something like conster- nation the insertion of a provision in the Convention that can hardly fail to give rise to continual and vexatious complications. The retention of Chinese jurisdiction over the pre- sent seat of government of the leased territory, moreover, could not fail to exercise & malign infinence on the minds of the natives, and would
assuredly have a damaging effect on British prestige in South China.
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Although my Committee have not so far been favoured with a perusal of the full text of the Convention, they have reason to fear that concessions may have been promised to the Imperial Maritime Customs, who at present by means of their stations and cruisers, maintain a species of blockade of the junk trade of the port, which trade has been practically unpro gressive since the establishment of their office in
R. Chatterton Wilcox, Esq., Secretary, Hong- kong General Chamber of Commerce.
T. SERCOMBE SMITH, Acting Colonial Secretary.
R. Chatterton Wilcox, Esq.,,Secretary, Hong- kong General Chamber of Commerce. THE CHAMBER TO SIR CLAUDE MACDONALD. Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce,
Hongkong, 26th July, 1898.
Sir, On the 20th inst. I had the honour to send you a telegram repeating the message for- warded by this Chamber to the noble Lord the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
I now beg to enclose a copy of the despatch addressed to Lord Salisbury in continuation of the telegram containing representations which my Committee considered it their duty to make before it might become too late to influence ac- tion.
•
That some advantages might accrue to the Colony by its being placed on the footing of a Treaty Port, and therefore participating in the facilities afforded by the Inland Steam Regula- tions, is quite possible, but such advantage would be greatly outweighed by the counter. balancing drawbacks. For the Colony to accept them as an equivalent for the freedom of the port would be like bartering its birthright for a mess of pottage.
This Chamber, while invincibly opposed to the continuauce in the Colony of the Cus- toms Collectorate of a foreign state, have no wish to place any impediment in the way of that state obtaining its rightful revenue, nor do they desire that a single dollar should be made by the Hongkong Government at the ex-
Customs Stations or Collectorate within the pense of China, but this can, they believe, be readily effected without the maintenance of any Colony. The chief article which requires special protection for the Chinese Government that, in connection with this import, more could is opium, and the Committee are of opinion perhaps be done than is at present by the Hongkong Government in safeguarding the Chinese revenue, The present system of licens- ing an Opium Farmer leaves much to be desired, and the Committee would suggest that the Go- vernment should give its consideration to the only provide an effective check on the import formulation of some other scheme which will not
of the drug but will trace it also to consumption or exportation.
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While, however, the Committee are prepared to sanction some sacrifice in revenue in order to secure in perpetuity the freedom of the port they would point out that in addition to, and a part from the objections already named to the My Committee take this opportunity to ten- proposals of the Chinese Imperial Maritime . der your Excellency their hearty thanks for Customs the damage to British prestige in your efforts on behalf of the colony. They do China and in the Far East generally by the not fail to recognise the great difficulties which practical conversion of this colony into a Chi- had to be encountered in dealing with the ese Treaty Port would be most serions, and in Tsung-li Yamen and the Imperial Maritime the eyes of the Cantonese at any rate would Customs in a question of this nature, but they reduce Hongkong into a dependency of the can only regard the article in the Convention Chinese Empire. Rather than accept an ar- retaining Kowloon City under Chinese juris- rangement so humiliating, so derogatory to diction as frought with future trouble to the Great Britain, und so detrimental to the Co colony and therefore calling for a strong pro-lony's best interests the Committee would be test, which they trust is not too late to be effective. I have the honour to be, sir, your
most obedient servant,
To
·
R. M. GRAY, Chairman.
disposed to recommend the abrogation of the Convention and a reversion to the previons con- ditions. I have the bonour to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
R CHATTERTON WILCOX,
Secretary,
His Excellency Sir Claude Macdonald, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., Her Britannic Ma-To Hon. T. Sercombe Smith, Acting Colonial jesty's Minister in China,
Secretary.
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