Mr. Hay to Mr. Conger.
February 26, 1900.
Sir: I have received your No. 295 of December 20, 1899, relative to the cases of Chang Chung-hsuan and Yu Kai-ping, two employees of Mr. D. A. Emery, an American merchant at Chinkiang, who were arrested and punished without notice to the consul or a request to him to have them turned over to the Chinese officials.
Mr. Martin, the consul, presented the facts as you report them in his dispatches Nos. 49 and 50, of November 18 and December 14, 1899.
Copies of these dispatches were sent to you by instruction No. 221 of January 8, 1900. It instructed you, in case action in accordance with Mr. Martin’s request had not already been taken by the Chinese Government, to demand adequate retribution of the offending official.
I have pleasure, therefore, in approving your telegram and instruction [Page 402] to Mr. Martin of December 20, 1899, in demanding the degradation of the chief of police, his return to Chinkiang, and that an apology be made to Mr. Emery.
I observe that it is your intention not to present the circumstance to the tsungli yamen unless Mr. Martin should report the failure of the viceroy to carry out his demand.
It is confidently hoped that before this instruction reaches you the regretted incident shall have been satisfactorily disposed of by the Chinese authorities, but in case it has not, the Department’s instruction No. 221 will have given you plenary instructions in the premises.
I am, etc.,