Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 7, 1903
Mr. Hay to Mr. Conger.
Washington, October 7, 1903.
Sir: I inclose herewith for jour information a copy of a letter from the Navy Department, inclosing copies of correspondence recently received from the commander in chief of the United States Asiatic fleet in relation to visits by small gunboats of the United States Navy to certain parts of the upper Yangtse. A copy of this Department’s reply to the Navy Department’s letter is also herewith inclosed.
I am, etc.,
The Acting Secretary of the Navy to Mr. Hay.
Washington, October 2, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to inclose for your information copies of correspondence recently received from the commander in chief United States Asiatic fleet, with reference to visits by small gunboats in certain parts of the upper Yangtse, China, and to request such comment as the State Department may desire to make.
Very respectfully,
Rear-Admiral Evans to the Secretary of the Navy.
United States Asiatic Fleet,
Flagship Kentucky,
Chefoo, China, August 10, 1903.
Sir: 1. I transmit herewith for your information copies of communications Nos. 1877, dated July 30 (inclosing a copy of a letter from the taotai of Kiukiang), aud 1882, of August 4, from our minister at Peking, addressed to me, and copies of my letters of July 30 and August 11, 1903, all bearing upon the same matter.
[Page 86]2. I have approved the action of the commanding officer of the Villalobos in visiting the Americans in the Yangtse Valley, and gathering such information concerning their welfare and present conditions as might be of service in granting them adequate attention at the earliest possible moment in the event of probable outbreaks, liable to occur at any time, and upon which occasions the presence of an armed force would be necessary to insure proper protection.
3. Upon the receipt of the reply from our minister at Peking I will inclose a copy of it to the Department for its information.
Very respectfully,
Rear-Admiral, U. S. Navy,
Commander in Chief United States Asiatic Fleet.
Mr. Conger to Rear-Admiral Evans.
Peking, July 30, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to inclose herein, for such action on your part as the provisions of our treaties and the protection of American interests warrant, a translation of a communication from the taotai at Kiukiang to the United States consul-general at Hankow, requesting him to notify the commanders of all the United States gunboats that they must not go inland where there are no treaty ports in order to prevent trouble.
I am, etc.,
Taotai Shwai to the United States consul-general at Hankow.
Kiukiang, July 8, 1903.
Sir: I hereby communicate to you that on the Kwanghsu, 29th year, 5th moon, 7th day, I received instructions from Governor Kuo, saying that on the 5th moon, 3d day, of this year, Magistrate Duo Ning Kwang, of Sin Jieu district, petitioned to his excellency, stating that the constable reported the arrival of a French gunboat at Wang Jar Duo. Two of the officers, named Mei-din and Pu-lo, went to the capital in a small boat to buy some supplies and returned to Wang Jar Duo.
His excellency says as the people of Nan-chang are very rough, and it is not a treaty port, if trouble occurs who will be responsible? Therefore his excellency instructs me to inform all the consuls that in future it is strictly forbidden for gunboats to travel at will, so as to prevent trouble, which might occur.
In accordance with the treaty, foreign gunboats can only travel to treaty ports. Nan-chang is not a treaty port, and the people there are very rough.
Last autumn the general foreign affairs office informed the southern viceroy to inform all the consuls-general at Shanghai to instruct all the captains of their gunboats not to go to Poyang Lake and inland to travel, which is on record. Therefore I write to the honorable consul to please look over this dispatch and inform all gunboats not to go inland, so as to prevent trouble, and please give me a reply.
Rear-Admiral Evans to Mr. Conger.
United States Asiatic Fleet, Flagship Kentucky,
Chefoo, China, July 30, 1903.
Sir: 1. The following extract from a report dated the 25th instant, from the commanding officer of the U. S. S. Villalobos, one of our gunboats operating in the Yangtse and neighboring waters for the purpose of watching over and protecting the lives and interests of Americans in those waters, is furnished for your information:
[Page 87]“The United States consul-general has just read me a letter from the taotai at Kiukiang reporting that a French gunboat had gone through the Poyang Lake and up the Kan River to Wang Chai-tu, thence by boat to Nanchang, and remonstrating in regard to men-of-war visiting this section. The movements correspond so exactly to those of the Villalobos in June that there seems little doubt the reference is to us. As this letter bids fair to open correspondence with our diplomatic representatives, I wish to state that the trip was made to visit the Americans residing in Nanchang with the view of providing for the protection of their lives and property.
“The taotai insists in his letter that such visits should be prohibited and that the foreign representatives have previously been warned not to send gunboats to the Poyang district, as the people of this district are ‘bad men.’ Apropos of this statement, there was not the slightest evidence of bad feeling throughout my trip to Nanchang, even on the boat trip for the last 10 miles. Arms in arms curtain bags were taken and the crew were fully able to protect themselves against ‘bad men.’ I am informed by the British officers who have cruised in the Poyang district that the natives do not get ‘bad’ until they number at least 10 to 1 to the foreigner. Since by treaty stipulation, I understand, we are at liberty to navigate the inland waters of China, and since the taotai at Kiukiang shows in his letter an apparent lack of effort to impress upon his ‘bad men’ a proper respect and line of conduct toward the people of a friendly nation, I am of the opinion that his action is overbearing and deserving of rebuke. This attitude of the taotai recalls the fact that I was not received by any of the Chinese officials at Nanchang during my short visit to the city of six hours. I had not thought of it in the nature of a snub at the time, but it seems probable that a clear understanding regarding relations with Americans is desirable.”
2. I infer that as the report is written from Hankow that the consul-general to whom the letter from the taotai was written is the one at that place.
3. I have informed the commanding officer of the Villalobos that his trip to Nanchang and the purposes for which it was made meets with my approval, and that, if occasion should offer, he is authorized to inform the taotai at Kiukiang that the visits of our gunboats to Poyang Lake and neighboring waters will be carried on in the future as in the past; that these gunboats are amply provided with means for dealing with “bad men;” that if any acts are committed against American life and property by these “bad men” the gunboats will deal immediately and severely with them, and, furthermore, that if the Poyang district is to be considered as containing men of this undesirable character, necessitating more careful watching over foreign interests, the visits of our gunboats will be more frequent than heretofore.
4. I would suggest that the proper Chinese officials be informed of the report of the taotai at Kiukiang of the visit of the Villalobos to Poyang Lake, and that they be requested to notify the taotai that our treaty rights permit the navigation of these waters for the purpose for which the Villalobos is there, and that also it has been the practice of the gunboats of the various foreign nations to make similar visits.
Very respectfully,
Rear-Admiral, U. S. Navy,
Commander in Chief United States Asiatic Fleet.
Rear-Admiral Evans to the commanding officer of the U. S. S. Villalobos.
United States Asiatic Fleet, Flagship Kentucky,
Chefoo, China, July 30, 1903.
Sir: 1. I have to acknowledge receipt of your Nos. 177–03 and 13–03 of the 21st instant, relative to the movements of the U. S. S. Villalobos.
2. I have considered with much care paragraph 16 of the letter above referred to, relative to the contents of the letter read to you by our consul-general from the taotai at Kiukiang, reporting that a French gunboat had gone through Poyang Lake and up the Kan River to Wang Chai-tu, and thence by boat to Nanchang, which corresponds, as you state, with the movements of the Villalobos and is presumably intended to mean that vessel. Further, that the taotai insisted in this letter that such visits should be prohibited and that the foreign representatives had previously been warned not to send gunboats to the Poyang district, as the people thereabouts are “bad men.”
[Page 88]3. Your visit with the Villalobos to Nanchang for the purpose of investigating the condition of and providing for the protection of the lives and property of Americans is approved. It is my desire that, so far as practicable, similar visits be paid to all Americans having property or other lawful interests in China, that I may be kept fully informed regarding all things concerning their welfare.
4. You will, if occasion offers, inform the taotai who wrote the letter protesting to the consul-general against your vessel that his objections will not receive consideration, and that if he thinks the people of the Poyang district are “bad men” such a reason is a greater cause for more frequent visits and more careful inspections of our interests by our armed vessels, and that these visits will be continued in the future as in the past. You are also authorized to inform the taotai, should occasion offer, and any other Chinese officials who may raise objections of this character that our gunboats are always amply provided for dealing with “bad men,” and that if there should be any indication of a desire to pay other than proper respect to American life and property on the part of these men they will be dealt with immediately, and that the gunboats will, without further instructions, administer severe and lasting punishment.
5. It is expected that the taotai and other officials of China will suppress all disorder and give ample protection to the lives and property of Americans, but if these officials fail to do so the question of adequate and proper protection will be taken in hand by our gunboats. In order to satisfy ourselves that the various local officials are properly affording protection, our gunboats will continue to navigate the Poyang Lake and the various other inland waters of China wherever Americans may be, and where, by treaty with China, they are authorized to engage in business or reside for the purpose of spreading the gospel.
Very respectfully,
Rear-Admiral, U. S. Navy,
Commander in Chief United, States Asiatic Fleet.
Mr. Conger to Rear-Admiral Evans.
Peking, August 4, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communication of the 30th ultimo, with extract from the report of the commanding officer of the U. S. S. Villalobos concerning his recent visit to Nanchang, and the taotai’s objection thereto as made to Consul-General Wilcox at Hankow.
My letter of the 30th ultimo evidently crossed yours en poste. I beg to add to that, however, that the matter will be duly brought to the attention of the Chinese Government; but I will be pleased to have you point out to me the provisions of the treaty which give our gunboats the right to go wherever they please in the interior of the Empire, except on rivers leading to open ports.
I am, etc.,
Rear-Admiral Evans to Mr. Conger.
United States Asiatic Fleet, Flagship Kentucky,
Chefoo, China, August 11, 1903.
Sir: 1. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your communications Nos. 1877 and 1882, of July 30 and August 4, respectively, relative to a translation of a communication from the taotai at Kiukiang to the United States consul-general at Hankow, in regard to gunboats visiting inland waters where there are no treaty ports, and in the latter of the above-mentioned communications I note your request to have pointed out the provisions which give to our gunboats the right to go wherever they please in the waters of China, except on rivers leading to open ports.
2. In reply I have to inform you that whereas there may be no express stipulation in our various treaties with China covering entirely the matter to which you refer and I may be, therefore, unable to point out any specific paragraph granting this general authority, yet I consider that the clause embodied in our treaties which grants to us the same or equal rights as may be granted to any other country—in [Page 89] short, the “most favored nation” clause—covers my action in authorizing our gunboats to cruise in the same manner and through the same waters as are allowed by China to the armed vessels of other nations; and in this connection I have to state that the Poyang Lake and neighboring waters have been, for some time past, visited by the gunboats of various other nationalities, very probably, I presume, for the same purposes for which our vessels have visited those waters, and apparently with the sanction of the Chinese authorities. If China grants or does not object to the visits of these vessels, we have the same rights and can justly claim the same privileges.
3. I consider it my duty to watch over and protect the lives and property of the citizens of our country who may be in China engaged in any lawful pursuit, and if the Chinese Government permits our people to engage in business or reside elsewhere than at treaty ports it is incumbent upon me to keep informed, so far as possible, of their welfare, and if at any time the Chinese authorities maltreat them or fail to give them adequate protection for life and property, which you know is frequently the case, it becomes my duty to instantly and unhesitatingly send such armed force as may be at my disposal and give the protection necessary.
4. In this connection your attention is invited to the recent riots on the North River, some hundred or more miles above Canton, where we had no treaty port, and in which riot the property of the American engineering party engaged in the building of the Hankow-Canton Railway was destroyed and our people forced to return to Canton to prevent loss of life, their property having been damaged and their work stopped; and again, to a riot in the same locality in which an American subject was kidnaped by Chinese pirates and held for ransom, of both of which instances you ‘were promptly notified by our consul-general at Canton and by myself. Had it not been for the instant dispatch of the gunboat Callao to the scene of these riots the consequences might have been serious indeed. As it was, the presence of the gunboat so quickly after the commission of the offenses prevented further attack upon the engineering party and secured the release of the captive without ransom. No objection was made, so far as I am aware, by the Chinese authorities or by any other official to this action of the commanding officer of the Callao, notwithstanding the fact that the locality visited was in a much less sense one embraced within our treaty rights than places up the Yangtse River, where numerous treaty ports exist at intervals along its waters.
5. The line of the Canton-Hankow Railway, extending through a portion of China seldom visited by foreigners, is liable to, and in all probability will, be the scene of more or less trouble with the Chinese, and if the Chinese authorities fail to afford ample protection to the lives and property of the Americans engaged in that enterprise, then I shall consider it my duty to afford them protection at any point along this line which it may be possible to reach with our armed forces, just as I have done in the instances above mentioned as regarding the attack on the engineers near the Canton line and the abduction of an American subject.
6. My instructions to the commanding officers of the gunboats are in all cases to cultivate the most friendly relations with the Chinese officials and people and to give no occasion for ill feeling or trouble of any kind by any act of theirs, but if trouble is provoked by Chinese mobs, then they must act immediately and as in their judgment may be deemed for the best interests and welfare of our Government and its people.
7. In this connection, as I judge from your communication you may not take the same view as myself, I respectfully request that you inform me explicitly and definitely as to your views of the action of the taotai at Kiukiang in forbidding our gunboats to navigate the Poyang Lake and neighboring waters, the recent action of the Callao in her trip up the North River to quell the riots-above-mentioned and protect American interests in a locality where there was no treaty port, and in the release of the abducted American subject. I should also be pleased for a definite statement as to what you may consider our actions should be in the very probable event of rioting and attack upon the lives and property of Americans engaged in the construction of the Canton-Hankow Railway, and in the event of uprisings liable, as we well know, to occur, and actually frequently occurring, in the valley of the Yangtse and elsewhere throughout China, in many cases similar to which delays in the appearance of an armed force for the protection of our people has so often resulted disastrously.
8. Upon the receipt of the expression of your views in these matters, I desire, if they are not in accord with my own, to request of the Navy Department more detailed instructions regarding my own line of conduct, that it may vary as little as possible from the policy outlined to you by the State Department.
Very respectfully,
Rear-Admiral, U. S. Navy,
Commander in Chief United States Asiatic Fleet.
Rear-Admiral Evans to the Secretary of the Navy.
United States Asiatic Fleet, Flagship Kentucky,
Chefoo, China, August 14, 1903.
Sir: 1. Referring to my letter, No. 114–M, of August 11, relative to the visit of the Villalobos to certain tributaries of the Yangtse and to the translation of the letter from the taotai to the consul-general at Hankow prohibiting the visits of our vessels to the Poyang Lake district and to my correspondence with the United States minister in regard to these matters, I have to inform you that on August 1 the commanding officer of the Villalobos informed me that the consul-general had informed him of a few words which had been left out in the translation of the taotai’s letter by which the sense would be changed to read as follows:
“Gunboats’ visits to the Poyang district should be prohibited unless on business or for some good reason.”
2. As this change in the translation completely alters the tone and meaning of the letter, and as it does not appear to me that so important an omission could have been made by unintentional error, I have to invite the attention of the minister to it with the suggestion that the interpreter might, perhaps, be not a reliable person.
Very respectfully,
Rear-Admiral, U. S. Navy,
Commander in Chief United States Asiatic Fleet.
Mr. Hay to the Secretary of the Navy.
Washington, October 7, 1903.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 2d instant, inclosing copies of correspondence recently received from the commander in chief, United States Asiatic fleet, in relation to visits by small gunboats of the United States Navy to certain parts of the upper Yangtse, China; and requesting such comment as this Department may desire to make.
In reply I have the honor to say that the Department is inclined to the opinion that Rear-Admiral Evans is right in his contention that our gunboats may visit the inland ports of China, including those which are not treaty ports. Even if this right were not explicitly granted to us by treaty, Rear-Admiral Evans is unquestionably right in using it when like ships of other powers are constantly doing so. His reasons for wishing to visit these places, as expressed in his communication of August 11, 1903, to Minister Conger, are absolutely convincing.
This Department thinks, however, that Article LII of the British treaty of 1858 with China, which is reproduced in Article XXXIV of the Austro-Hungarian treaty of 1869, gives full authority for his course. The text of Article LII of the British treaty is as follows:
“British ships of war coming for no hostile purpose, or being engaged in the pursuit of pirates, shall be at liberty to visit all ports within the dominions of the Emperor of China, and shall receive every facility for the purchase of provisions, procuring water, and, if occasion require, for the making of repairs. The commanders of such ships shall hold intercourse with the Chinese authorities on terms of equality and courtesy.”
If the communication of the taotai of Kiukiang is to be amended by the addition of the phrase mentioned in Admiral Evans’s communication of August 14, it would show that the Chinese authorities have also remembered Article LII of the British treaty of 1858.
I have, etc.,