Mr. Rockhill to Mr.
Hay.
No. 98.]
Commissioner of
the United States to China,
Peking,
China, May 28,
1901.
Sir: The diplomatic corps in its meeting of to-day
read a letter from Field Marshal Count von Waldersee in reply to one sent
him by that body on the 24th of last month, in which it had expressed its
opinion that the Provisional Government at Tientsin should hand over its
powers at the earliest date possible to the regular local Chinese
authorities. The marshal reasserts his opinion that this Provisional
Government should be maintained as long as there is any considerable foreign
military force in Peking. I inclose copy of the marshal’s letter; also one
of the reply agreed upon to be made.
The opinion of the diplomatic corps on this point was submitted to and
received the approval of the various Governments, and the field marshal was
so informed. Since then nothing has occurred to alter the belief that the
evacuation of the native city of Tientsin and the transfer by the
Provisional Government to the Chinese authorities of the authority with
which it was intrusted by the commanders of the troops in north China during
that period of disorganization resulting from the occupation of Tientsin
should be brought to a close as soon as possible, just as is being done now
in other parts of this province held by foreign troops.
The marshal’s letter has been referred by the various ministers to their
Governments for final instructions on the matter. I beg you will give the
subject your early attention.
I informed you in my dispatch No. 85, of the 13th instant, that the
diplomatic corps was endeavoring to reach a conclusion on the subject of the
suspension of the metropolitan examinations, which the Chinese
plenipotentiaries think should be excepted from the operation of paragraph
B, article II, of the Joint Note. This subject was taken up again to-day and
two proposals made. The first stated that while the powers could hold out no
hope of an amelioration of the terms of the demands for the suspension of
examinations in all the towns and cities where foreigners had been massacred
or had been subjected to cruel treatment, the conditions in which the
metropolitan examinations take place (these examinations can only be held in
the capital of the Empire and under the nominal direction of the Emperor,
who confers in person some of the degrees then competed for) not existing,
the powers reserved to examine later on the question of these
examinations.
I voted against this proposal, which, in my opinion, would leave the whole
question unsettled.
The Russian minister then proposed that the metropolitan examinations at
Peking should be allowed only for graduates of provinces in which foreigners
had not been massacred or been subjected to cruel treatment.
I voted for this proposal, as I did not think it was the intention, of the
United States at least, to punish people from those provinces of
[Page 179]
China which had taken absolutely
no part in the antiforeign movement of last year. Neither of these two
proposals, however, securing a majority of votes, the question is again
deferred for future consideration.
The Russian minister informed the conference that he had received from his
Government instructions to accept the proposal in the British memorandum
relating to the payment of the indemnities, and which provides for a
committee of encashment, to receive from China the various payments which it
will have to make on account of the indemnity, and to distribute them among
the interested powers in proportion to their various claims.
I understand by this that the Russian Government abandons its proposal to
secure any loan with an international guarantee for the payment of the
debt.
This afternoon the private secretary of Li Hung-chang informed me that the
Emperor had accepted the demand of the powers for 450,000,000 taels as
indemnity, and had agreed to the payment of interest thereon at 4 per cent,
though His Majesty’s Government hope that it will be found possible to
slightly reduce this amount.
In this connection I transmit herewith for your information copy of a
telegram which I received on the 26th instant from the Viceroy Chang
Chih-tung. While this telegram is in reply to one I sent him on the 17th
instant, copy of which was inclosed in my dispatch to you, No. 90, of the
20th instant, the latter part of it relates to the question of the payment
of indemnity.
The diplomatic corps not having yet considered formally the question of the
interest to be demanded of China, I have not yet replied to the Viceroy’s
telegram.
I have the honor, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.—Translation.]
Count von Waldersee
to M. de Cologan.
No. 98.]
Headquarters
Winter
Palace,
Peking, May 25,
1901.
Mr. Minister: Referring to my letter of the
29th of April, I have the honor to again submit to your excellency, as
dean of the diplomatic corps, the following considerations concerning
the council of Tientsin:
The council of the provisional government of the district of Tientsin was
created several days after the capture of that city, the transfer of the
whole administration to the hands of the military authorities appearing
an inevitable necessity.
To render possible the accomplishment of the duties which devolved upon
it, it became necessary to extend little by little the area of its
administration, so that this includes to-day not only the city of
Tientsin itself, but also the neighboring territory along two banks of
the Peiho as far as Taku, inclusively.
All the allied powers, with the exception of Austria-Hungary, are
represented in the council, the organization of which, generally
speaking, is the following:
- First. General secretary; bureau of the council.
- Second. Police, with a personnel partly military, partly
native.
- Third. Treasurer, to settle all financial business.
- Fourth. Justice, to decide all judicial differences, and to
judge all penal cases which can not be concluded directly by the
chiefs of the police or the chiefs of districts.
- Fifth. Public works, to finish works already commenced; to
take up again and execute such works as are deemed desirable for
the military interests or general interests.
- Sixth. Salubrity, to prevent epidemics and to establish better
conditions less dangerous for the public health than those
existing at the present day.
- Seventh. Chinese secretary, to make all necessary
translations, to decide all demands, complaints, and requests
made orally, to draw up proclamations, etc.
Furthermore, the four districts of the suburbs of which are under the
orders of a chief of district, to whom is confided the maintenance of
peace, and who is competent to decide directly disputes and questions of
minor importance.
These chiefs have in the two largest districts as assistants two and
three officers, respectively, and they have the services of
noncommissioned officers and soldiers of the allied forces for the duty
of police inspectors and police soldiers, so as to superintend, with
their assistance, the police service, which is, as a general thing,
performed by the native police.
The staff directing the above-mentioned divisions (with the exception of
the Chinese secretary) is naturally composed at the present time
exclusively of persons of the nationalities of the allied powers. Their
number, however, is confined to the strictest limits. The subordinates,
however, are already at the present time recruited as much as possible
among the natives.
The above-mentioned organization, whose principal duty is to facilitate
as much as possible by the measures which it adopts the accomplishment
of the object which the allied forces can have in view, has, as a
general thing, filled perfectly all requirements, and has been able to
gain the confidence of the Chinese population. In my opinion, it would
be impossible to replace it advantageously at the present time by a new
organization.
Nevertheless, referring to my letter of the 29th of April to your
excellency, I find myself obliged to point out again that, as my
personal opinion and as that of the commanders of the contingents, it is
absolutely necessary that the administration of the district of Tientsin
should remain under military authority as long as international troops
in any considerable number are stationed there. The effective force
amounts at first to at least 7,000 men, since it is necessary to add to
the 6,000 men constituting the contingent of occupation 600 men of
French troops, destined to protect the railroad, several Russian
military posts at Tientsin, Tongku, and Taku, as well as station guards
(etapes) at the two last-mentioned places.
But if, as I have had the honor to state in my above-mentioned letter,
submitting the administration of the occupied territory to military
authority is in perfect accordance with the stipulations of the
conference of The Hague of 1899, which were approved and adopted by the
powers, on the other hand no doubt can be entertained that the
transmission of the administration of the district in question to the
Chinese Government would inevitably lead in a short space of time to
most embarrassing complications, the consequences of which can not be
foreseen between that Government and the military authorities, as these
latter must depend for the satisfaction of a number of their wants on
the measures adopted by the administration, being only able to count on
its assistance for securing them.
In this connection I take the liberty of again noting that the settlement
of these difficulties would cause the diplomatic corps much useless and
protracted preoccupation. But, putting aside even the question of the
feasibility of making the allied contingent dependent on the orders of
Chinese officials, the multiplicity of allied contingents represented in
the army of occupation would increase this indefinitely.
I see, furthermore, in the preservation of the administration under
military authority a most efficacious means of obliging the Chinese
Government to keep those promises to which it has already
subscribed.
If, as I do not think possible, a common commander in chief for the
international troops should be created, he would have the position of a
military governor, to whom it would be then necessary without further
consideration to submit a civil administration; but even he could not do
better than to use the provisional council which already exists and is
discharging well its duties while gradually increasing the Chinese
functionaries in it.
In the probable case of such a commander in chief not being appointed, I
believe, as formerly and without any reservation, that nothing better
could be done than to allow the provisional council to subsist, while
pledging it to add Chinese functionaries gradually and always in
increasing numbers in its administration.
The fact that the work of the council extends exclusively to the Chinese
city of Tientsin and other Chinese territory, while that of the consular
body is essentially limited to the concessions, seems to make it quite
possible that the two corporations should exercise their duties without
at all clashing, and it will be simply a question of tact on the part of
the one and the other to escape all misunderstanding.
I take the liberty of again submitting to the consideration of the
diplomatic corps the question of eventually deciding whether it would
not be desirable in the future that the council should count among its
numbers a representative of America, which power is not leaving any
occupation forces at Tientsin.
Count von Waldersee,
General Field Marshal.
[Inclosure 2.—Translation.]
Dean of the Diplomatic
Body to Count von
Waldersee.
Monsieur le Maréchal: I have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of the letters which your excellency has been
pleased to send to me under dates 29th of April and 25th of May,
concerning the provisional government of Tientsin.
The foreign representatives, to whom I have submitted these
communications, think that they can not express their opinion before
having received instruction from their Governments,
I will hasten to forward a reply to your excellency as soon as my
colleagues have been able to agree upon one.
Please accept, etc.,
[Inclosure 3.—Translation.]
Viceroy Chang
Chih-tung to Mr. Rockhill.
Wuchang, China, May 26,
1901.
His Excellency W. W.
Rockhill,
Special Plenipotentiary,
Peking:
I have duly received your excellency’s telegram and have perused the
various points which you consider suitable and advantageous to trade.
Trade is the basis of a country’s prosperity. I perceive that all of the
points presented in your excellency’s telegram have for their object the
question of the expansion of trade. If regulations can be fixed that
will prevent abuses, prove a benefit to China, advantageous to the
trading classes and ordinary people, I shall be very pleased to consider
them. As to the point referring to the working of mines and proper
regulations, thus opening China’s sources of wealth, if uniform system
can be devised and action taken in accordance therewith, this would be a
business at present of exceeding importance. I shall be glad to consider
the matter, and, after a decision has been arrived at, to memoralize the
throne, asking permission to undertake the work. In your excellency’s
telegram you state that the United States desire is to obtain commercial
privileges. At the present time the amount (of indemnity) is very large,
the foreign powers demanding 450,000,000 (taels) at 4 per cent interest,
covering a period of thirty years. A payment of 26,000,000 annually is
to be made. The Chinese people are poor, and to demand further payments
from them to meet this enormous indemnity would still reduce the traders
and people to an impoverished state. The demand for foreign goods, in
consequence, would be reduced, and this would be at variance with the
idea of the United States to have commerce and trade developed. I
earnestly beg that your excellency will discuss the question with the
foreign representatives of reducing the indemnity; also the rate of
interest at least 1 or half of 1 per cent. The former American
(British?) minister Sa (Ma? McDonald) named the rate of interest at 3.7
per cent. If the rate can be reduced it would make it much easier for
the people to bear, and trade would gradually develop. This would prove
equally advantageous to both foreigners and Chinese. If this can be done
I will be ever, ever so grateful. Please favor me with a reply by wire
at your early convenience.
