Mr. Rockhill to Mr.
Hay.
No. 148.]
Commissioner of
the United States to China,
Peking,
China, August 6,
1901.
Sir: In further reference to the carrying out of
Articles VIII and IX of the Joint Note of December 22 last, the previous
correspondence concerning which I transmitted you in my dispatches Nos. 69,
of April 16, and 143, of July 27, 1901, I have the honor to inclose herewith
for your information a note addressed by the dean of the diplomatic corps to
the Chinese plenipotentiaries under date of July 28 giving a list of the
fortifications which are to be razed, and another, from the same to the
same, stating the points which will be held by foreign troops to protect the
lines of communication between the capital and the sea.
I am, sir, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.—Translation.]
Mr. de Cologan to
the Chinese Plenipotentiaries.
Highness, Excellency: The foreign
representatives direct me to inform you that to insure the carrying out
of Article VIII of the collective note accepted by His Majesty the
Emperor of China it was necessary to undertake the destruction of the
following-named fortifications:
- First. Military camp to the south of Yangtsun.
- Second. The arsenal of Hsi-ku at Tientsin.
- Third. The yellow fort at Tientsin.
- Fourth. The black fort (citadel) at Tientsin.
- Fifth. The eastern arsenal at Tientsin.
- Sixth. The two camps of Chün-liang Ch’ eng.
- Seventh. The four camps at Hsin-ho.
- Eighth. All the fortifications of Taku, namely: On the right
bank of the Peiho, the coast battery with the camp which forms a
part of it, and the south fort at Taku with its camp; on the
left bank, the northwest and the north forts.
- Ninth. All the fortifications at Pei-tang, to wit: The south
fort (fort No. 1), the central and the north fort (forts Nos. 2
and 3), the two works to the north of forts Nos. 2 and 3, the
camp situated between the line of these forts and the
railway.
- Tenth. All the camps existing at Lu-tai within a radius of
2,000 meters of the railway.
- Eleventh. The camps between Tang-ho and Shan-hai Kuan within a
radius of 2,000 meters of the railway.
- Twelfth. The forts of Shan-hai Kuan.
The works mentioned under Nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 in the present
letter will be razed by the provisional Government of the Chinese city
of Tientsin.
The destruction of the other works, mentioned under Nos. 1, 9, 10, 11,
and 12, devolves on the Chinese Government. This work should be carried
out without delay by and under the direction of a technical commission
composed of officers designated for that purpose by the commanders of
the allied forces.
The representatives of the powers request your highness and your
excellency to immediately appoint the delegate who will be directed to
come to an understanding with the above-mentioned commission for the
carrying out of these works.
[Page 294]
[Inclosure 2.—Translation.]
Mr. de Cologan to
the Chinese Plenipotentiaries.
Peking,
China, August 2,
1901.
Your Highness and Your Excellency: According to
Article IX of the Joint Note accepted by His Majesty the Emperor of
China, certain points to be determined by an agreement among the powers
are to be occupied by foreign troops in order to maintain free
communication between Peking and the sea. I am asked by my colleagues to
inform your highness and your excellency that it has been decided, in
pursuance of the terms of this article, to occupy the following places
on (or adjoining) the Peking-Shan-hai-kuan railway: Huang-ts’un,
Lang-fang, Yang-ts’un, Tientsin, Chün-liang-ch’eng, Tong-ku, Lu-t’ai,
Tong-shan, Lan-chou, Chang-li, Chin-wang-tao, Shan-hai-kuan.
So far as Chinese subjects are concerned, the jurisdiction of the
commanders of the military posts situated on the Peking-Shan-hai-kuan
Railway will be confined to crimes and offenses committed by Chinese
affecting the railway or the telegraphic communications or the persons
and property of soldiers of the allied forces. It will be exercised over
the territory along the railway to the extent of 2 miles on either side,
and in the case of persons surprised in the act of committing offenses
against the railway or the telegraph lines or against the persons or
property of soldiers of the allied forces, pursuit can be continued
beyond those limits wherever necessary. But with the exception of
nersons surprised in flagrante, delicto, the search, pursuit, and arrest
of offenders outside the 2–mile limit and handing them over to the
foreign military authorities will be exercised by the Chinese
authorities.
I avail myself, etc.,
