File No. 135/6–7.
Minister Rockhill
to the Secretary of State.
American Legation,
Peking,September 4,
1907.
No. 714.]
Sir: Referring to the department’s instruction
No. 299, of May 31 last (file No. 135–1) and my reply thereto, No. 669,
of July 18, 1907, on the subject of the Chinese characters to be used by
the local authorities in stamping deeds for property purchased for
missionary purposes in China, I have the honor to inclose copy of a note
received from the foreign office, by which it is agreed to stamp the
deeds in the manner suggested by this legation.
A copy of this note has been sent to our consuls in China for their
information and guidance.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure
1.—Translation.]
The Prince of Ch’ing
to Minister Rockhill.
Foreign Office,
Peking,August 29,
1907.
Your Excellency: I have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of your excellency’s note of August 27 with
reference to the words (pen ch’u—local) in
deeds to property purchased by American missionary societies. Your
excellency in this note points out that the construction of the
sentence in which this expression, “pen ch’u”
appears in the regulations calls for a different reading than one
which would make these words correspond with the similar expression
(ko ch’u—all parts) in the treaty. You
state that you have no objection to the use of the words pen ch’u “themselves, so long as it is clear
that they do not qualify or restrict the words (chiao hut—missionary society); that the following phrase,
for example, would be quite satisfactory: (mei-kuo
mou chiao hui tsai mou chou hsien pen ch’u ti-fang yung tzu chih
kung ch’an—public property in such and such locality of
such and such department or district, leased in perpetuity to the —
American Missionary Society); and finally, that you hope
instructions in accordance with the above will be sent to the
various local authorities.
In reply I have the honor to state that in the expression as
contained in the last dispatch of my board, viz: (pen ch’u mei kuo chiao hui chih kung ch’an—public property
of the local missionary society), and the one contained in your
excellency’s reply, viz (public property in such and such locality
of such and such department or district, leased in perpetuity to the
— American Missionary Society), the idea is the same.
My board therefore agrees to the use of your expression. Further
instructions will be sent accordingly to the various local
authorities directing them to order their subordinates to take note
and act accordingly. It also becomes my duty to send this reply for
your excellency’s information.
A necessary dispatch.
[Seal of the Wai-wu Pu.]
