rhe Wuhu Incident: Extent of Government's Authority From Our Own. Connesronoey?
London, Nov. 7.
The following questions and_an-were in Parliament are taken from Mansard:—Mr, Day asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the British Consul at Nanking has received any reply from the National Government with reference to the request made for protection for British lives and property at Wuhu; and can he give particulars?
Mr. A. Henderson:—His Majesty's! Minister at Peking reported on October 22 that the National Government had informed the Consul-General at Nanking that the military outbreak at Wuhu, caused by the mutiny of a battalion of troops, had been completely suppressed. Foreigners were reported not to have] been affected, though some damage is said to have been done to foreign houses by bullets.
Mr. Day:—Can the right hon. gentleman say whether it was necessary to land an armed guard of men from a British gunboat?
The General Situation led to the Chinese Government by Peking August 10, 1929.
"Sir, have the honour to ack-knowledge the receipt of your note of April 27, in which you inform me of the desire of the National [Government.of the Republic of China that the restrictions imposed Jon the jurisdictional sovereignty of China. by the system of extraterritoriality now in: force should be removed at the earliest possible date, with a view to the assumption of jurisdiction by China over all na-jonas in her domal "2-1 have communicated the contents of your letter to my Gov-fernment, and Tam now instructed! to transmit to you a reply in the following sense #'2.—Animated' ty the Sriendly feelings which they have always entertained towards the Government and people of China, His Majesty's Government have given their sympathetic consideration to the request of the Chinese Government relating to the abolition of extraterritorial jurisdiction in China. The high importance of this subject in, its bearing both on the political development of China and the future rela Hons between China. and Great Britain appears to demand that it should be closely examined from every aspect. In particular, a just appreciation of the reasons for which, and the manner in which, jurisdiction to which the Government of China have on various ocean Jarticle 12 of the treaty of commerce between Great Britain and China, signed in that year, His Majesty's Government stated their readiness to relinquish their extraterritorial rights when they were satisfied that the state of Chinese laws, the at-rangements for their administration, and other considerations warranted them in so doing. They have since watched with appreciation the progress which China has made in the assimilation of Western legal principles, to which reference is made in your note under reply, [they have observed deep terest the facts set out and the recommendations made in the report lof the commission on extraterritoriality in the year 1926, —More recently, in the declar-lation which they published in Dec-Jember, 1926, and the propceals. which' they made to the Chinese authorities in January, 1927, His Majesty's Government have given concrete evidence of their desire to meet in-a spirit of friendship and [sympathy the legitimate aspirations Jof the Chinese people. They have already travelled some distance Jalong the road marked out in those Jdocuments, and they are willing to Jexamine in collaboration with the Chinese Government the whole prolbtem of extraterritorial jurisdiction, with a view to ascertaining
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.