393.1123 Lincheng/203: Telegram
The Minister in China (Schurman) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 16—6:43 p.m.]
261. My 241, June 29, 10 a.m. Committee met today and completed draft of note to the Chinese Government which will now be reported to diplomatic body for appropriate action. The only important modification since the omission of the Shanghai demands was the raising of the indemnity for loss of liberty and hardships suffered by the captives as follows: $500 silver per captive per day for the first 3 days, $100 a day for the next week, $150 for the next, $200 for the next, $250 for the next, $300 for the next. For the life of the Englishman $20,000 silver was demanded.
Committee have thought it best to drop altogether the subject of progressive sanctions. This decision was due on the one hand to the impossibility of finding any suitable substitute for the Shanghai demands and on the other hand to a relaxation of feeling in the minds of the Ministers who in early June were most insistent in urging this penalty.
I brought up at the end the question as to what measures should be taken to insure acceptance of the demands made by the diplomatic body in case the Chinese Government should prove unresponsive thereto as discussed in your number 138, undated,7 received July 11, 9 a.m. The French Minister thought it would be unwise to elaborate a definite program of action in advance and believed we should be in a better position to deal with the matter when we had learned reaction of the Chinese Government. I ventured the opinion [Page 679] that the Chinese Government could be brought to the acceptance of the demands contained in our note through ordinary diplomatic pressure and that the real difficulty would be over the problem of the reorganization of the railway police force under foreign officers which is reserved for a future communication. This view was generally concurred in though the opinion was also expressed that the Chinese would not take favorable action without some delay.
This afternoon Japanese Chargé d’Affaires (the new Minister is to arrive tonight) called on me to discuss further the subject of railway police with respect to which he had hastily indicated to me his Government’s views before the committee meeting this morning. It is clear to me that while not formally opposing in principle the British program, the Japanese Government views it with suspicion. The Japanese representative here will, I venture to predict, be found supporting the French Minister’s proposal of leaving railway police under Chinese control but subject to foreign inspection and report.
On the merits of the case I must add that this latter program has much in its favor. In the first place it does not relieve Chinese Government of full responsibility for protection of foreigners traveling on railways and, secondly, it does not assume as the British proposal seems to assume that traveling would be safe if only foreign officers were given supreme command of Chinese railway police, whereas, in my opinion, dangers of travel in China will not be greatly reduced till bandits are suppressed in the provinces. In this connection I may report that French Minister some time ago observed to me that in his opinion and that of the Chinese experts in his Legation the plan of sending foreign experts to the provinces to report what the tuchuns are doing for the suppression of bandits which the committee adopted on my recommendation is likely to prove the most helpful and constructive feature of committee’s note.
Japanese Chargé d’Affaires told me this afternoon that his Government desired that the subject of railway police should be worked out by the diplomatic agents here. I replied that I believed that was also the view of my Government, which, however, favored in principle the British proposal subject of course to the understanding that its application would be limited to the protection of travelers and not embrace any ulterior objects. I had previously cited to him your attitude in the Shanghai matter as proof of your insistence that the diplomatic body should limit itself exclusively to the object under contemplation, namely, the prevention of future Lincheng outrages.
Committee decided to postpone further consideration of railway police problem till British Minister who [went?] to Pehtaiho a week ago could be present.
- July 9, 6 p.m., supra.↩