Minister Rockhill
to the Secretary of State.
[Extracts.]
American Legation,
Peking,
China, December 23,
1905.
No. 178.]
Sir: Mr. Conger, in his dispatch to the
Department of State No. 1777, of December 29, 1904, transmitted copy of
a note of the diplomatic body at Peking to the Prince of Ch’ing,
embodying certain
[Page 374]
amendments
which it proposed as urgently necessary to the rules for the mixed court
in the international settlement at Shanghai.
On January 20, 1905, this legation received a copy of an identic note
from the Prince of Ch’ing, acknowledging the note of the diplomatic body
of December 22, 1904, and stating that he had referred this important
matter to the superintendent of southern trade (the viceroy of Nanking),
who, after thoroughly investigating the matter, would reply to the
foreign office, which in turn would be able to settle the question with
the diplomatic body.
On September 8 last, nothing having been received from the Wai-wu Pu in
the meanwhile, and the consul-general of the United States having
repeatedly called my earnest attention to the urgent necessity of
reaching an understanding with the Chinese Government on the matter, as
the relations between Chinese and foreigners in the international
settlement were getting more and more strained and threatened serious
complications, I wrote to the dean of the diplomatic body asking him and
those of our colleagues who were interested in the matter to press its
consideration on the foreign office until finally settled.
The Dean, Baron von Mumm, having consulted the diplomatic body, accepted
my suggestion, and on the 27th of September sent the Prince of Ch’ing a
note, practically in the same words as my note to him above referred
to.
No reply, however, having been elicited within a reasonable time, on
November 22 I addressed the inclosed note to the Prince of Ch’ing, and
my British and German colleagues also sent similar ones. Two days later
we received a note from the prince, saying that the reply awaited from
the superintendent of southern trade had been mailed him and would be
received in a few days. On December 4 we finally received communication
of the amendments for the rules of the mixed court proposed by the
superintendent of southern trade and the taot’ai of Shanghai and
accepted by the Chinese Government. These counter proposals are now
under consideration by the diplomatic representatives at Peking.
While the above detailed negotiations were taking place, the consular
body at Shanghai took upon itself, without consulting, as was its duty,
the diplomatic representatives at Peking, to secure from the taot’ai at
Shanghai that female prisoners should be imprisoned in the jail of the
municipality and no longer in the Chinese court jail. The taot’ai
refused to accede to this proposal. I inclose herewith a copy of his
note of June 10, 1905, to the senior consul, and the latter’s reply
thereto of June 21.
Notwithstanding the refusal of the taot’ai to allow Chinese females to be
imprisoned in the municipal jail, in a meeting of the consular body,
held on the 26th of July, “at the suggestion of Mr. Potier,
consul-general for Portugal, it was resolved to note in these minutes
that in future the assessors of the mixed court, when finding that a
female defendant should be sentenced to imprisonment, should send her to
the municipal jail for female prisoners.”
On the 27th of July our consul-general at Shanghai wrote me the inclosed
letter, from which it would appear that either he had not yet seen the
minutes of the meeting of the day before, or that he did not realize the
binding effect on him of its decisions. This latter explanation seems
the more likely from the last two lines of his letter,
[Page 375]
in which he says that he will instruct the
American assessor to adhere to the established rules, overlooking that
he was bound by the new decision, against which he had not
protested.
I inclose also a copy of Mr. Rodgers’ dispatch to me of August 21, last,
in which he again states that the consular body had decided to let the
assessors at the mixed court act as they deemed best, and that he had
instructed the American assessor to observe the old rules and
customs.
Such was the condition of affairs in Shanghai when on December 11 the
Prince of Ch’ing sent a note to the dean of the diplomatic body
informing him that as a result of an attempt on the 10th by the British
assessor at the mixed court to have certain Chinese women remanded to
prison in the municipal jail, there had been a fracas in the court room
in which several persons had been badly hurt by the foreign policemen,
who had finally carried the women off and imprisoned them in the
municipal jail.
Considering the statements of the Prince of Ch’ing, the British minister,
the German minister, and myself, as representing the powers whose
assessors sit most of the time at the mixed court, telegraphed to our
consuls-general at Shanghai that the women should be immediately
released from the municipal jail. I inclose draft of the reply to the
prince’s note which was agreed upon by the diplomatic body, and which
was sent December 17, 1905.
Although the prisoners were released, the mixed court magistrate, under
orders from the Shanghai taot’ai, refused to reopen the court until the
British assessor had been removed and the foreign police who had taken
part in the fracas had been punished. To enforce these demands the
Ningpo Merchants’ Guild, the most powerful and aggressive in Shanghai,
declared a general boycott on the 18th instant, which promptly resulted
in fighting and bloodshed.
The same day most of the ministers called at the foreign office here and
urged on the Chinese minister the necessity of the Chinese Government
taking prompt and energetic action to stop the agitation and restore
peace and order.
On the 19th I received from the Prince of Ch’ing a dispatch giving the
text of an imperial edict reviewing the case and ordering the viceroy of
Nanking to proceed at once to Shanghai and settle it.
I inclose also draft of a note from the dean of the diplomatic body to
the senior consul at Shanghai, which it has been agreed by the
diplomatic representatives should be sent.
I have the honor, etc.
[Inclosure 1.]
Dispatch from Prince
Ch’ing to Hon. J. G.
Coolidge, chargé d’affaires, in re revision of
the mixed court rules.
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt upon January 5 of a
dispatch from your excellencies on the subject of the revision of
the rules for the mixed court in Shanghai. You state that this has
become an urgent necessity, and that the foreign consuls have taken
the matter under consideration and proposed amendments, which they
have sent to the foreign ministers in Peking for their
consideration; that the ministers after prolonged deliberation
communicate them to me for approval, that they may be published in
the ordinary method and put into operation within a short period of
time.
[Page 376]
I have the honor to state that my board finds that Shanghai is an
important commercial center; the hub of Chinese and foreign
commerce; that the business of the mixed court is increasing daily;
that the ten rules adopted in 1868 are very old and should be
revised in accordance with the needs of the times, in order to be
thoroughly satisfactory. But in the case of the original rules the
minister of commerce ordered the Shanghai customs taot’ai to propose
some rules for consideration, after which the Tsung-Li-Yamen sent
said rules in dispatches to the various foreign ministers for their
consideration and decision. In this instance the amendments sent to
me by your excellencies have been sent by my board to the
superintendent of trade for the south, who will order the Shanghai
customs taot’ai to make a thorough investigation into the state of
affairs; then after satisfactory deliberation they will reply to my
board, which will then consider and decide the matter. This will
doubtless be to the mutual advantage of all concerned, enabling all
to observe the same rules.
As soon as I have received the reply from the superintendent of trade
for the south and the Shanghai customs taot’ai my board will
consider and decide the matter and inform your excellencies; but for
the present it becomes my duty to send this dispatch that you may
know what is being done in the matter.
A necessary dispatch.
Kuanghsii, XXX year, 12th moon, 15th day
(January 20th, 1905).
[seal.]
[Inclosure 2.]
Mr. Rockhill to
Baron v. Mumm, German
minister and dean of the diplomatic corps.
American Legation, September 8, 1905.
My Dear Dean: On the 22d of December, 1904,
the diplomatic representatives in Peking of Austria-Hungary,
Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Korea, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, and the United States
addressed a note to the Prince of Ch’ing on the subject of the rules
for the mixed court in the Shanghai international settlement.
The diplomatic representatives called the attention of the prince to
the urgency of agreeing on amendments to the rules of 1868, and they
transmitted the amendments agreed upon between them for his earnest
consideration and expressed the hope that they might be put in
operation within a short period of time.
This note was duly acknowledged by the Prince of Ch’ing by an identic
note to each of the diplomatic representatives who had signed the
note of December 22, 1904, and stated that he had sent the amended
rules transmitted him by them to the superintendent of southern
trade, who would “order the Shanghai customs taot’ai to make a
thorough investigation into the state of affairs, when, after a
satisfactory deliberation, they will reply to my board, which will
then consider and decide the matter.”
Six months have passed since this note was received. This would seem
to be ample time for the “investigation and deliberation” deemed
necessary, and as the consul-general of the United States at
Shanghai has on several occasions of late called my attention to the
ever-increasing urgency of the case, I take the liberty of
addressing you in this matter, trusting that you and those of our
colleagues who are interested in this question will join with me in
pressing its consideration on the foreign office until finally
settled.
I remain, dear Baron, very cordially, yours,
[Inclosure 3.]
Mr. Rockhill to
the Prince of Ch’ing.
Peking, November 22,
1905.
Your Imperial Highness: I have the honor to
call the attention of your imperial highness to the urgent necessity
for action in the matter of the revised regulations for the mixed
court in the international settlement at Shanghai.
It is now almost a year since the representatives in Peking of
Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan,
Korea, the Netherlands,
[Page 377]
Portugal, Russia, Spain, and the United States, on the 22nd of
December, 1904, submitted to your imperial highness certain
amendments to the rules of 1868, to which they were all agreed and
for which they requested the consideration of your highness’
Government.
To this request your highness replied on January 20 of this present
year, saying that the proposed amendments had been sent to the
viceroy of the Liang Kiang and other provincial authorities for
their consideration, and that after receiving their report your
highness’ board would decide the matter. After more than eight
months had passed without further communication from your highness
on the subject, the dean of the diplomatic corps on the 27th of
September again addressed your highness on behalf of all the powers
interested, asking for prompt action on the subject. To this your
imperial highness replied on October 2, stating that no report had
yet been received from the provincial authorities.
Nearly two months have now elapsed since your highness’ note was
received, and still nothing has been done in this very important
matter, and I am compelled on behalf of my Government to urge upon
your highness the necessity of immediate steps to put an end to this
unnecessary delay on the part of the provincial authorities, whose
indifference or neglect is preventing the introduction of the reform
so imperatively demanded by the condition of affairs in the mixed
court at Shanghai. Nearly every week I receive communications from
the American consul-general at SLanghai, calling my attention to the
importance of this matter. It is quite as much to the interest of
China as of the other parties that the old mixed court rules be
revised, and I can see no reason for the apparent unwillingness of
your highness’ Government to take the necessary action in a matter
of such pressing concern to all interests at Shanghai, both native
and foreign.
I have the honor, therefore, to ask that your imperial highness will,
without further delay, take such measures as may be necessary to
secure a report from the viceroy of the Liang Kiang immediately, and
that your highness will communicate to me at an early date the
decision of your Government respecting the matter.
I avail myself, etc.
[Inclosure 4.]
Dispatch from His Imperial Highness Prince of Ch’ing, president of the hoard
of foreign affairs, to Hon. W. W.
Rockhill, American minister, in reply to
complaint of delay in the matter of the revised mixed court
regulations for Shanghai.
Peking, November 24,
1905.
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt on yesterday of your
excellency’s dispatch saying that on the 27th of the ninth moon,
western calendar, the dean of the diplomatic corps, on behalf of the
ministers of the various countries, had sent me a dispatch urging
speedy action in the matter of the Shanghai mixed court regulations,
and that he had received a reply stating that the provincial
authorities of the Kiangnan had not yet reported upon them; that two
months had now passed since this reply had been received, and that
nothing had been done with regard to the question; and that you were
compelled in behalf of your Government to urge me to take measures
to prevent any further delay on the part of the local authorities to
the hindrance of this important matter of revising the Shanghai
mixed court regulations.
As to these regulations my board has repeatedly sent instructions to
the superintendent of trade for the south urging him to make
investigation and report, as the records show.
I have just received a telegram from the said superintendent saying
that he had had correspondence with the taotai at Shanghai with
regard to the mixed court regulations of that port and had
thoroughly considered the matter and that they had agreed upon a
draft which had been sent forward the day before inclosed in a
dispatch to me. As the reply of the aforesaid official has already
been mailed it must arrive here within a few days, and on its
receipt I shall consider its proposals and communicate with your
excellency. In the meantime, as in duty bound, I send this dispatch
for your information.
A necessary dispatch.
Kuanghsu, XXXI year, tenth moon, 26th day
(November 24, 1905).
[Page 378]
[Inclosure
5—Translation.]
The Prince of Ch’ing
to Baron von Mumm, clean of the
diplomatic body.
Peking, December 4,
1905.
On the 5th of January, 1905, His Excellency Baron Czikann, formerly
minister of Austria-Hungary and dean of the diplomatic body,
addressed an official note concerning the revision of the rules of
the mixed court at Shanghai. It was therein said that labors of the
court tend constantly to increase, and that since therefore the
revision of the rules had become an urgent necessity, the foreign
consuls at Shanghai had not failed to consider them and had proposed
amendments which they had transmitted to the representatives of the
powers at Peking which now communicated them to me. This note was
accompanied by proposed amendments in eleven articles.
This ministry has kept up a regular correspondence with the
superintendent of southern trade on this subject, and has several
times urged him in writing to transmit his reply as soon as
possible. On the 28th November I received a letter from the
superintendent of southern trade saying that he had just taken up
the question of the amendments to the rules of the Shanghai mixed
court, but as it was necessary to acid to some of the suggestions
and cut out from others, he had tried to bring the rules to a state
of perfection to meet the present requirements. My ministry has
again examined the rules and has reached the conviction that all the
articles as settled upon are perfectly proper.
I have the honor to transmit herewith to your excellency, as dean of
the diplomatic body, copy of the rules with the request that you
will bring it to the knowledge of the representatives of the powers
at Peking, so that they may communicate these rules to the foreign
consuls at Shanghai and give them the necessary instructions for
their general observance.
Trusting that I may receive an answer from your excellency on this
matter, I avail myself, etc.
(Signed) Prince of Ch’ing.
[Subinclosure in inclosure 5.]
I. (a) The mixed court at Shanghai shall keep
separate dockets in Chinese-of all police cases and mixed civil
cases, entering each case separately, numbering it consecutively,
with the date of filing, the names of the parties in full, their
nationality, the thing claimed, with the minutes and date of all
orders, decrees, continuances, appeals, and proceedings until final
judgment, and a sufficient minute of the final judgment.
(b) The mixed court shall have power to deal
with all civil cases punishable by cangue or beating with the bamboo
or by imprisonment not exceeding three years, and shall keep a
separate docket thereof as above provided.
(c) Such several dockets—except those of
police cases, and mixed civil cases, which may be examined by any
party materially interested at any time after the case has been
decided—if they contain confidential or important information which
it is not advisable to divulge, shall not be subject to
inspection.
The remaining civil cases brought directly to the court need to be
recorded in a separate document, but when such cases are disposed of
the judgment, together with a statement of the names of the parties
and witnesses already set at liberty or otherwise dealt with, shall
be exhibited in due course on the notice board for general
information.
II. All trials and proceedings in the mixed court of Shanghai shall
be open to the public, unless the assessor and judge agree that for
confidential reasons and for public morale the case should be
private.
III. The office of the magistrate of the mixed court shall be an
official post with all the attributes of the yamen of a prefect,
independent subprefect, of independent departmental magistrate. The
magistrate shall be selected and deputed from among the prefects,
subprefects, assistant subprefects, departmental and district
magistrates of the Province. If the official deputed be a
departmental or district magistrate the rules shall be followed
applying to an acting prefect or acting (independent) departmental
magistrate. His official dealings and correspondence shall be
conducted on the lines followed by a prefect, independent
subprefect, or an independent departmental magistrate.
[Page 379]
If there is no suitable
official in the Province, an official from another Province may be
used. The Shanghai taotai shall in either case request the viceroy
and the Governor to make the appointment (and if occasion demands),
to address (the authorities of another Province asking for the) use
(of an official’s services). (Translator: The Chinese drafting
requires amendment here.) The date of his taking over and handling
over charge shall be reported to the board.
IV. (a) In all cases, except where both
parties are Chinese and in which no foreigner is involved, a foreign
official shall sit as assessor. The powers of these foreign
assessors, who shall be appointed by the several consular
representatives, subject to the treaty rights of each nationality of
foreigners, shall be exercised in accordance with the provisions of
the Chefoo convention, section 2.
(b) If the magistrate and assessor fail to
agree after consideration upon the decision in any case, it shall be
referred to the taotai and consul or consul-general concerned, as
the case may be.
V. The mixed court gaol shall be kept under European sanitary
conditions. An experienced and capable Chinese medical officer shall
be engaged by the court itself to carry out this work, and the
Shanghai taotai shall set aside funds for this purpose.
If in the future the court gets a proper gaol, separate rules will be
drawn up for its satisfactory administration.
VI. No warrant or summons of the mixed court against Chinese in the
foreign settlement north of the Yangkingpong shall be enforced
unless countersigned by the senior consul. (In the case of
respectable persons, and when the circumstances of the case are not
really grave, a summons should only be issued and warrants must not
be used unnecessarily. If a party fails to appear when summoned more
than once he may then be arrested under a warrant.)
If the defendant is in the employ of a foreigner such warrant must be
also countersigned by the consul of the nationality of the employer
of the defendant.
In Chinese cases where the parties are summoned by the Chinese
magistrate, they may be released on bail if the hearing of the case
is not at once impending, so as to avoid detention in custody.
Now that no torture is employed in hearing cases, the new regulations
sanctioned by the Throne shall be followed.
VII. In all cases, civil or criminal, which come before the court
where a foreign assessor is sitting and both parties are represented
by counsel, before an attorney or counsel is admitted to practice in
the mixed court he must satisfy the court that he has been admitted
to practice in the consular court of his own nationality at
Shanghai.
VIII. (No alteration.)
IX. In cases involving principles where no precedents exist in
Chinese law, the court shall be governed by Chinese commercial
custom and equity.
X. (No alteration.)
XI. All parts of the present rules and regulations for the mixed
court of Shanghai not in conflict with these supplementary
amendments are hereby continued in full force, and the Chinese and
foreign officials shall do their best to carry out the same.
[Inclosure 6.]
the municipal council.—mixed
court.
[Clipping from North China Daily
News, December 12,
1905.]
The following letter, with inclosures, is ordered for publication as
bearing on the recent dispute at the court:
Shanghai, 22nd June, 1905.
Dear Sir: I have the honor to forward to
you:
- 1.
- Translation of a dispatch from the taotai, dated 10th of
June, 1905.
- 2.
- Translation of a reply dated 21st of June, 1905.
As it appears impossible to come to terms with the local Chinese
authorities I have been instructed by my colleagues to proceed to
Nanking and to discuss the question with his excellency the
viceroy.
I have the honor to be, dear sir, your obedient servant,
Doctor Knappe,
Consul-General for Germany and Senior
Consul.
F. Anderson, Esq.,
Chairman Municipal Council.
[Page 380]
Translation of dispatch from Taotai to Senior
Consul, dated June 10, 1905.
The taotai writes in reply to the letter of the 6th instant, that
according to all the treaties a Chinese offender is under the
jurisdiction of China. If a Chinese commits an offense in the
settlement, he is to be tried and detained in custody by the
magistrate of the mixed court according to Article I of the rules
for the mixed court at Shanghai.
The mixed court has existed in Shanghai for several tens of years;
but neither is there any mention in the treaties, nor is there any
precedent to show that a female convict has ever been sent to the
municipal gaol.
I have been, the taotai continues, in Shanghai for four years as
taotai and have always endeavored in my intercourse with the foreign
consuls to act in an amicable manner. I can not understand how you,
as senior consul, influenced by the municipal council, can address
to me a request which is not in conformity with the treaties.
In consequence of the successive enlargements of the settlement the
number of the cases which have to be tried in the mixed court has
increased; and accordingly the gaols for male and female prisoners,
which in former times were regarded as large enough, have proved to
be too small. I have, therefore, given instructions to the mixed
court magistrate to repair and cleanse the mixed court’s gaols and
to choose a place on the mixed court’s premises for erecting new
buildings.
Mr. Twyman, the British assessor, has inspected the places and
declared them as fit for use. Thereupon I have set apart a sum of
money for the construction of the new buildings and have thus done
my duty.
Female convicts have to be tried as soon as they have been taken, and
immediately after the trial they are to be dealt with according to
the sentence.
If there have occurred delays in producing female convicts, because I
do not agree with their being sent to the municipal gaol, and if
consequently cases accumulate, the fault lies not with me but with
the foreign assessor. According to Chinese law offenders who have
committed a crime are sent to prison; those who have only committed
a trivial offense are kept in custody.
Never has there been equal treatment in all the cases without regard
for the severity of the case.
Your request that I should agree with the female convicts for the
present being sent to the municipal gaol is not in accordance with
the treaties, and I am, therefore, not in a position to comply with
it.
Translation of the senior consul’s reply, dated
June 21, 1905.
I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated 10th
of this month, which I have submitted to the consular body.
I have received instructions to reply to you as follows:
You forget to mention that male prisoners in all Chinese cases of the
mixed court have been taken to the municipal gaol since its
creation. In this way thousands and thousands of Chinese have
undergone their punishment up to the present date and the average
number of convicts detained there is 450 per day.
Female prisoners have not been taken to the municipal prison so far
because no accommodation for women was in existence up to a short
time ago; but the municipality have granted a large amount of money
and erected a special gaol for women.
There is no difference in principle between male and female
prisoners, and it is not comprehensible, why, if you agree that male
prisoners to the number of 450 are kept regularly in the municipal
gaol, you should object to a few female prisoners being sent to the
same establishment.
It is evident by your conduct in this matter, as well as in many
others, that your principle is obstruction to any progress in the
interest of humanity.
There appears to be no chance of coming to an understanding with
you.
I have, therefore, received instructions from my colleagues to
proceed to Nanking and to negotiate with his excellency the viceroy
in this and some other matters.
I have the honor, etc.,
[Page 381]
[Inclosure 7.]
Mixed court dispute.—Minutes of consular meeting
of July 26, 1905.
Present, all the members of the consular body except the
representatives for Russia and Sweden and Norway.
I. Uniform. The consular body instructed the senior consul to suggest
to the taotai that he should ask the consular body not to come in
uniform to the tiffin at the Emperor’s birthday, but in white.
II. Sealing of proclamation by the senior consul. The consular body
authorized the senior consul to examine in every case the contents
of every proclamation issued by the Chinese authorities and to affix
or refuse his seal at his own discretion.
III. Question of pimps. The consular body declared their willingness
to assist the municipal council in their endeavors to suppress the
pimps. Answer to this effect is to be sent to the chairman of the
municipal council. It was resolved that every consul should examine
the list of pimps sent in by the municipal council and should inform
the senior consul if the nationalities given are correct.
IV. Mixed court. Letter from the consul of the 24th instant was read.
At the request of the taotai (his letter of the 17th instant)
particular cases of irregularities on the part of the mixed-court
magistrate will be notified to the taotai; the council will further
be asked for details.
At the suggestion of Mr. Potier, consul-general for Portugal, it was
resolved to note in these minutes that in the future the assessors
of the mixed court when finding that a female defendant should be
sentenced to imprisonment should send her to the municipal gaol for
female prisoners.
V. Road to the hills. The senior consul mentioned that the deputy
sent by the viceroy was apparently already here.
Mr. Rodgers declared that he had official notice from Peking that the
matter was pending there for the present. Therefore the matter was
left over.
VI. Chinese reformatory. Letter of the committee was read. At the
suggestion of the senior consul it was resolved to ask the municipal
council for their opinion. In the meantime every consul should study
the rules for the reformatory and give his opinion at the next
meeting.
VII. Native bank orders. Letter from the chairman of the general
chamber of commerce of the 13th instant was read. The senior consul
was instructed to write to the taotai in conformity with
application.
VIII. Personnel des Legations Etrangeres a Peking. The senior consul
was instructed to ask the doyen of the diplomatic body for a number
of copies of the above list.
(Signed)
Dr. Knappe, Senior Consul.
Shanghai, August 1,
1905.
[Inclosure 8.]
Consul-General Rodgers to Minister Rockhill.
American Consular Service,
Shanghai, July 27,
1905.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your No. 97, concerning the road to the hills and the
altering of the rules of the mixed court at Shanghai.
In reply I beg to inform you that both of these subjects were
discussed at a meeting of the consular body Wednesday, the
conclusion being to do nothing. No report has been received from the
viceroy on the question of the road. As to the mixed court, I shall
instruct our assessor to adhere to the established rules until
changes are authorized from Peking.
I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant,
(Signed)
James L.
Rodgers.
[Inclosure 9.]
Consul-General Rodgers to Minister Rockhill.
American Consulate-General,
Shanghai, August 21,
1905.
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that a
rather bad state of affairs exists in relation to the mixed court at
Shanghai. The Shanghai municipal council some time ago, without
consulting the consular body, and with no notification to the
assessors other than the British, instituted some new procedures,
which the Chinese authorities interpreted as an infringement of
their authority and practically in violation of the rights
guaranteed by the treaty. The municipal council claimed their
“suggestions,” which were put in force, were in the interest of
reform, to prevent extortion of money from prisoners and to provide
for a proper administration of justice. The consular body, when the
matters were brought to its attention by the taot’ai and then by the
municipal council, simply temporized, but reproved the municipal
council. It was afterwards decided to leave the method and manner of
the conduct of the court as far as the new processes were concerned
to the discretion of the assessors. The taot’ai had practically
withdrawn his objection to some of the new ideas, but the magistrate
objected strongly to that which required the delivery of the
prisoners after punishment to the municipal police, who returned
them to the central station, there to be released.
Upon receipt of your recent dispatch in relation to the mixed court,
I instructed our assessor, Mr. Arnold, to observe the old rules and
customs. That has been done, and now the police and the municipal
council protest against releasing prisoners directly after
punishments. I have told them that I do not recognize their right to
interfere, and that attitude I shall maintain.
* * * * * * *
It is my hope that the diplomatic corps at Peking will take this
matter up and reach a conclusion soon which will have the effect of
putting an end to a condition which is a menace to the intercourse
between foreigners and Chinese in Shanghai. There undoubtedly is
necessity for reform in the mixed court, but I am inclined to
believe that the Chinese will make concessions readily if they are
properly approached.
I would be obliged for such information as you may be able to give as
to the status of this question in Peking.
I have the honor to be, sir, etc.,
[Inclosure
10—Translation.]
The Prince of Ch’ing
to Baron von Mumm, dean of the
diplomatic body.
Peking, December 11,
1905.
On the 14th of the 11th moon of the 31st year of Kuanghsü (December
10, 1905), I received from the superintendent of southern trade the
following telegram:
“The taot’ai of Shanghai conveys to me the following telegraphic
report, just made to him orally by Mr. Kuan, deputy at the mixed
court:
“‘On the arrival at this port of the river steamer, a detective
having found on board 12 young girls, whose presence seemed
suspicious, they were taken this morning to the mixed court to be
questioned. As all of them were servants, bought in Ssu-ch’uan by an
official of that province, his relatives or friends, for their
personal use, and in no wise destined to be disposed of in a
doubtful traffic, the deputy, after vainly trying to reach an
amicable understanding with the British vice-consul, Mr. Twyman,
ordered his men to remove the girls in question, to be held at the
disposal of the court for additional investigation. The chief of
foreign police opposed this, and, using violence, his agents and
constables struck right and left with their clubs; as a consequence
of which two of the deputy’s men were wounded and several persons
among the crowd of onlookers, unable to get out of the way, were
severely beaten. The women
[Page 383]
(girls) were then seized and led off to the (foreign) police
station. The foreign official (i. e., Mr. Twyman), instead of
stopping his agents, approved and encouraged them. The Chinese
deputy restrained his men, who fortunately did not strike
anyone.
“‘A court is a place where justice is rendered, and the fact of
striking in court the ch’ai jen (runners) of an official, is not
only disrespect to the laws and justice, but also a breach of
decorum and propriety. I shall therefore be indebted to you if you
will officially request the dean of the diplomatic body at Peking to
equitably settle the incident.’
“I have furthermore received from the gentry and merchants of
Shanghai the following telegraphic request:
“‘The woman Li Fan Huang, not Li Fan Wang, is the wife of a
prefectural secretary of Ssu-ch’uan, named Li T’ing-yü. He dying,
his widow, accompanied by her daughter-in-law and her young child,
was returning to Kuang-tung with the remains of her husband. She had
with her a certain number of serving women, and she was bearer of a
passport from the ch’uan-tung. The British police having without
cause charged her with proxenetism, took her before the (mixed)
court, and, contrary to the regulations, had her imprisoned in the
western jail (i. e., the municipal council jail), where she still
is. The people are angered and threatening.’”
Considering that there is in this present case neither plaintiff nor
accused; that it appears that it is not a case of proxenetism; that
the matter does not concern any foreigner; that notwithstanding all
this, foreign police agents have in court struck ch’ai jen (official
runners), and that innocent women have been arrested and imprisoned,
and that their actions can be justified neither by the treaties nor
by the circumstances nor reason, I have therefore the honor to send
your excellency the present dispatch, and to beg you, Monsieur the
Dean, to take steps with the British minister at Peking to the end
that he may send instructions to his consul-general at Shanghai to
have, in the first place, liberated the women imprisoned in the
western jail, and then to reach an agreement with the Shanghai
taot’ai for an equitable settlement of the matter, so that the
population may be calmed and treaty provisions kept.
I shall be obliged to your excellency for an answer.
Important matter.
[Inclosure 11.]
Baron von Mumm
to the Prince of Ch’ing.
Peking, December 17,
1905.
Your Imperial Highness: I have the honor to
inform your imperial highness that I have called the attention of my
honorable colleagues, and especially of his excellency the British
minister, to your note of December 11 with regard to an incident at
the mixed court in Shanghai.
My honorable colleagues of Great Britain and the United States, whose
assessors, together with the German representative, take part most
commonly in the proceedings of the mixed court, have begged me to
inform you that we are agreed in thinking that in accordance with
the explanation furnished by your highness the Chinese women in
question should be released immediately. They have furthermore
authorized me to inform you that we are prepared to give orders to
our respective consuls-general in Shanghai to come to an agreement
with the taotai as to an equitable solution of the question.
We have communicated these instructions to the rest of our honorable
colleagues, who are of the same mind with us.
Since this was done a telegram has reached me from Shanghai stating
that the women in question had been liberated.
This being the case, I feel it my duty to insist with your imperial
highness, on behalf of my honorable colleagues, that formal orders
be given forthwith that, the sessions of the mixed court, suspended
temporarily as a result of the incident in question, should be
resumed immediately to avoid the serious injury to public interests
in Shanghai which would result from the continued opposition of the
Chinese magistrate of the mixed court.
I seize, etc.
[Page 384]
[Inclosure 12.]
Prince of Chi’ng to
Mr. Rockhill.
Peking, December 19,
1905.
I have the honor to inform your excellency that on the 19th of
December, 1905, an imperial edict was issued, as follows:
“The various telegrams submitted by the foreign board have been
carefully noted. It seems that a Mrs. Li, née Huang, who was
returning to Canton with her family, was wrongfully accused of
kidnaping before the mixed court of Shanghai; that the family was
forcibly confined in the municipal jail, and that the municipal
police by their arrogant display of authority excited the anger of
the people. While the board of foreign affairs was in the midst of
their deliberations with the foreign ministers at Peking and making
a just arrangement (as to the mixed court), it is unfortunate that
there should have been some ignorant ruffians who availed themselves
of this pretext to close up their stores, burn the jail, and injure
human life. Shanghai, being a commercial port, is a place of
important concern. What are all the officials down there doing that
such a serious affair as this should happen? Let the viceroy of the
Lian Kiang and the governor of Kiangsu immediately arrest the leader
and all the offenders concerned in this trouble. Let them be
arrested and severely punished immediately. Let these officials also
impeach all the local officials who have been remiss in their duty,
either civil or military. Let Chou-fu proceed to Shanghai at an
early date and make a complete and thorough inquiry into the whole
affair, and devise means to deal with it. At the same time let him
explain the whole matter to the people and restore quiet. Respect
this.”
(Signed) Prince of Ch’ing.
[Inclosure
13—Translation.]
Draft of letter of the dean of the diplomatic
body to the consular body at Shanghai.
Mr. Consul-General: In view of the late
incidents at Shanghai my honorable colleagues have requested me to
make the following statement to the consular body:
The representatives of the powers have learned with astonishment that
the consular body has decided in a meeting held on the 26th of last
July that the assessors at the mixed court should send to the
municipal jail Chinese women condemned by that court to be
imprisoned.
Their attention has also been called to a letter sent by the taot’ai,
under date of the 10th of June, to the dean of the consular body,
and which has just been published in the North China Daily News, and
in which this office formally refuses to agree that condemned
Chinese women shall be imprisoned in the municipal jail.
My honorable colleagues have requested me to recall to you that by
Article I of the rules for the mixed court it is the magistrate who
is authorized to confine Chinese prisoners.
These rules were adopted in 1869 by the foreign representatives at
Peking and the Chinese Government, to whom it belongs to modify them
by common consent. The consuls are not empowered to suspend its
application nor introduce changes therein without the approbation of
the representatives of the powers and the Chinese Government; such
action would conflict with all the conventions which regulate the
relations between the Chinese and foreigners in open ports.
While calling your attention to the facts and principles set forth
above, the diplomatic body is of the opinion that the decision taken
by the consular body on the 26th of July, not having been approved
by the representatives of the powers in Peking, must be considered
null and void.
