476
A BRITISH GUNBOAT CHRIST. ENED AT SHANGHAI.
LAUNCHING OF THE
44
WOODCOCK,
| SPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE “DAILY PRESS."]
:: SHANGHAI, 8th December. The British gunboat Woodcock was launched to-day and was christened by Miss Hannen, daughter of the Chief Justice.
[The Woodcock is one of the river gunboats recently brought out from home in sections.]
THE SZECHUEN REBELLION.
FATHER FLEURY'S SAFETY DIS- PAIRED OF.
[SPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE “DAILY PRESS."]
Shanghai, 5th December. Chungking telegraphs denying the surren der of Yu Man-tsze, the rebel leader.
The situation in Szechuen is serious. Hopes of saving the Rev. Father Fleury, held in captivity by the rebels, have been abandoned.
FATHER FLEURY'S CAPTIVITY.
THREATENED FRENCH RESCUING
EXPEDITION TO SZECHUEN.
[SPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE" DAILY PRESS,"
SHANGHAI, 7th December.
A reported French ultimatum threatens to send a force from Tonkin to Szechuen to rescue Father Fleury, who is held in captivity by the rebel Yu Man-Tze.
FRENCH DEMANDS AT SHANGHAI
CRITICAL SITUATION.
[SPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE "DAILY PRESS.']
Shanghai, 5th December.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
The French demands made at Nanking with reference to the extension of the so-called French Settlement at Shanghai are equivalent to the alienation of an appreciable portion of the Yangtsze Valley.
The Viceroy is menaced, but stoutly refuses to comply with the demands.
Sir Claude MacDonald is silent.
}
Shanghai, 1st December.
|
The Chinese officials appear to have learned, though at a rather late hour, a lesson from the German seizure of Kinochan. According to dispatches received from Nanking, when it was rumoured that, owing to the difficulty of set- tling the French claims regarding the Ningpo Cemetery riot, the French intended to emulate the German example at Kiaochau by the seizure of some place in the Yangtze Valley, both Viceroy Liu and Viceroy Chang, who have charge of the defences of the great river, made every preparation to prevent the threa tened coup, and all military officials from Teungming island, near Shanghai, up to Ichang received strict orders to resist any such aggression as was expected, on pain of losing their heads. Extra troops were called in from the interior to reinforce the garrisons on the Yangtsze, and large quantities of ammunition were sent to them with orders to use it freely whenever needed. But when Count de Bezaure arrived at Nanking to confer with Viceroy Liu guarded only by a second-class cruiser, the Des- cartes, the tension was considerably relieved, it having been also rumoured that the French Consul-General would be escorted to Nanking by the whole French squadron of the Far East In spite of the peaceful action of the French so far, there are yet many responsible mandarins who claim that the reports they had received concerning the anticipated aggressions of the French were from "perfectly reliable sources.".
Shanghai, 2nd December.
Bund, and for territory to the south and west of the city, thus making the Chinese city an enclave in the proposed French Settle. ment. Then he asks for land on Pootung, where the French have no interests what ever, except as far as concerns missionary establishments, and hereafter a further piece of territory to be as large in extent as the territory to be granted to the British or the U.S. Consul-General, whichever is the larger. The Viceroy, of course, will not agree to this, and has represented that Count de Bezaure is practically by his browbeating encouraging all the disorderly elements in the lower Yangtsze Valley; but we cannot believe that the French Minister at Peking or the French Government really understand the length to which the French Consul-General is going, and the danger which the interests of all foreigners here and on the Yangtsze are incurring from
The Count de Bezaure's demands on the Viceroy, which it is reported he has threatened to enforce by the guns of the Descartes, are of such a preposterous nature that it would seem that the French Consul-General is trying to pick a quarrel with some ulterior object in view. He asks for the whole of the Chinese
his action.
!
Shanghai, 3rd December. In anticipation of any possible acts of aggres- sion on the part of the French squadron failing the satisfactory settlement of the Ningpo Ceme. tery riots, the Viceroy Liu has ordered the whole of the Nanyang squadron of ten cruisers and gunboats with the torpedo squadron to rendezvous at Nanking at once, instead of being scattered as hitherto at Woosung, Kiangyin, Chinkiang, and other places. Furthermore it is probable that H.E. the Viceroy desires, if there is any fighting to be done, that his Nanyang officers should fight under H.E.'s own eyes this time. It appears that so far there has been only one application for leave of absence in the squadron, which it is needless to say has not been successful.
A Nanking native dispatch states that owing to the curious movements of the French cruiser Descartes, which has been steaming hither and thither before Nanking taking soundings, and at night firing guns and showing her electric lights, the Viceroy Liu ordered the cruisers Nansheng and Weiching to follow the French vessel and report on her movements. An officer
of one of the Chinese cruisers having boarded the
Descartes he was shown about the ship, which had her guns run out, ammunition out on the decks, and everything denoting that the vessel was prepared for action. There were twenty-four guns on board, so reported the officer, and he was further told that the French Minister at Peking had been told of the Viceroy Lia's obduracy" and that the French Consul-General expected some more French men-of-war to arrive at Nanking in a few days when some definite action would be taken to bring matters to a conclusion. In reply to the above report the Viceroy merely commanded instructions to be. telegraphed to all his military officers command- ing the defences of the Yangtsze to keep a strict look-out to prevent surprise and to open fire if any suspicious movements were seen.
Shanghai, 5th December.
It is an easy thing to laugh at the demands now being put forward at Nanking by France, but laughter and talk as to how preposterous those demands are will have no practical effect, and it is open to question whether the general foreign community of Shanghai really recognise the gravity of the position. Many seem to regard these demands as being simply for an extension of French municipal control, likely to be beneficial to both foreigners and natives. To some extent this may be true and were that all there would be no cause for any thing but congratulations, This, however, is not the true position, and it behoves everyone interested in the future welfare of Shanghai, whether they be proprietors of land, merchants, missionaries, or anything else, to carefully cen- sider what the French demands really are and what is likely to be the practical effect if those demands are conceded by China.
[December 10, 1898.
times as large as the present area of French control will be annexed by France.
It must be first borne in mind that these de- mands are not merely for an extension of muni- cipal control. The French have always endea- voured to maintain that the area they already control is a "Concession," ie., that France has practically sovereign rights in it, and that it is French Soil." It is not long ago that public utterance was given to this view.
The moral aspect or the right of such an- nexation need not be touched on here, it is sim- ply the right of might, which may enable France to awe China into subjection and thereby to give France "territory" subject to further expansion whenever she again hun- gers for land.
The position of other foreigners resident or owning property in this annexed territory need not here be discussed-all are aware that muni. cipal government is but restricted. The supreme power, the true executive being the representative of France, naturally enough Regulations or Laws have been and always will be assimilated as closely as possible to those common in other French possessions, and these may or may not be binding or operative on other foreigners and their property. This has yet to be settled.
It must be borne in mind, therefore, that the extensions now demanded are territorial, and as a demand conceded to through fear of force is nothing more or less than "annexation," it really means that an area probably forty or fifty
But all these points sink into insignificance when it is realised that what France now de- mands is the concession to her Government of territory.
It is nothing more or less than a demand for alienation of territory and is utterly at variance with the notorious assurance of the Chinese Government that no territory will be alienated in the Yangtsze provinces..
The Powers ohiefly interested in trade with China, and with this port in particular, are Great Britain, the United States, Germany, and Japan, and it behoves the subjects and citizens of those countries to awake from their apathy and to help China to resist a demand the effect of which if conceded will be an increase of French jurisdiction and influence beyond that of all the other Powers put together.
A little "note" from St. James's, from Ber- lin, from Washington, and from Tokyo, to Paris, reminding France that China cannot alienate the territory demanded will soon end the matter.
SUPREME COURT.
5th December.
IN ORIGINAL JURISDICTION.
BEFORE SIR JOHN Carrington (Chief JUSTICE) AND a Special Jury,
A KOK V. BELILIOS,'
In this case A Kok, of 23, D'Aguilar Street, contractor, sought to recover from the Hon. E. R. Belilios the sum of $11,200, being the balance of money due for work done and materials provided by the plaintiff on a building belonging to the defendant which is known as Beaconsfield, lately in the occupation of
Messrs. Butterfield and Swire.
Mr. Pollock (Acting Attorney-General), in- structed by Mr. H. L. Dennys, appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Francis, Q.C. (instructed by Messrs. Wilkinson and Grist) for the defendant.
The following composed the special jury : Messrs. R. Marten (foreman), H. M. Mehta, J. S. Van Buren, Walter Poate, W. R. Loxley, W. Hutton Potts, and C. A. Tomes. Mr. Poate asked if he could not possibly be excused, as he had already served on a special jury for several days: His Lordship, however, said that that could hardly be a valid excuse, as other gentlemen served on the same special jury.
Mr. Pollock said that Mr. Belilios in August of last year, as he was losing his old tenants, Messrs Butterfield and Swire, who were remov ing from Beaconsfield to their new offices on the Prays, was anxious to get the Government tenants of Beaconsfield. In the first instance he approached the Government upon the subject through Mr. Stephens, solicitor. - Mr. Stephens wrote a letter to the Colonial Secretary on the 30th of August, last year, on behalf of Mr. Belilios, pointing out that Beaconsfield would be very suitable indeed for Government offices, and that it would be advantageous, as Mr. Belilios thought, for the Government to take Beaconsfield for Government offices, and Mr. Stephens, on behalf of Mr. Belilios, in that letter quoted certain - terms lease. Those terms were not acceptable to the Government, and on the 4th of September
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