Minister Conger to
the Secretary of State.
American Legation,
Peking, November 8,
1904.
No. 1741.]
Sir: Consul-General Cheshire has sent you a
full account of the murder of the third comprador (Chinese) of the
[British] S. S. Kansu by being thrown into the
canal by persons wearing the uniform of the United States sailors, and
the decision of the formal court of inquiry into the facts thereof.
It does not seem to me necessary to send from this legation another copy
of the voluminous proceedings, but I inclose herewith copies of my
correspondence with the Waiwu Pu concerning the case.
It is true that the evidence is not absolutely conclusive as to the guilt
of the American sailors, but in my judgment it is circumstantially
sufficient to have convinced the average jury, and I therefore share the
opinion of the court of inquiry that, if possible, a reasonable
indemnity should be paid to the Chinese Government for the benefit of
the family of the deceased.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure 1.]
Prince Ch’ing to
Minister Conger.
I have the honor to inform your excellency that I recently received a
telegram from the viceroy of the Two Kuang, saying: “On the 17th of
the eighth moon (September 26) toward evening several sailors from
an American war vessel within the British settlement of Shameen at
Canton seized the comprador of the S. S. Kansu, named Ho Choy Yeen, and without just provocation
threw him into the water, where he drowned. The police of the
British settlement at once recovered the corpse, and orders were
issued to the district magistrate of Nan-hai to proceed to make an
investigation. The foreign sailors who made the row were pursued at
the time, but were not caught. I have already appointed deputies to
consult with the American consul-general, who has consented to
detain the war vessel for a time, and has fixed a date for a joint
investigation.”
Yesterday I received another telegram, saying:
“I have received a report from the deputies and the prefectural and
district magistrates, who met with the American consul-general and
summoned Chinese and foreign witnesses, and made a careful and
thorough investigation. The testimony of all was reliable and agreed
together in pointing to American sailors as the guilty parties, but
as yet no one has been able to say with certainty what the surnames
and personal names of the murderers are, nor give a description of
them, so that there is nothing to be laid hold of in searching for
them. They have now agreed with the American consul-general upon six
articles, the main purport of which is that the said consul-general
shall report to the American minister at Peking, requesting him to
inform the American Government and ask for a satisfactory
appropriation as indemnity for the family of Ho Choy Yeen, and that,
furthermore, steps will be taken to discover the real murderers, and
that hereafter, no matter when, once the real murderers shall have
been discovered and evidence obtained that they are really the
guilty
[Page 113]
parties they shall
be tried and punished according to American law. It becomes my duty,
therefore, to request that you will inform the American minister at
Peking and ask him to request the American Government to make a
generous appropriation as indemnity and promptly search for the
murderers and bring them to trial in accordance with the agreement
made.”
I find as to this case that Ho Choy Yeen, the comprador of the
steamship, was thrown into the water by sailors from an American war
vessel and was drowned. The deputies of the viceroy concerned have
already made a joint investigation with the American consul-general
and come to an agreement that compensation ought to be made to the
family of Ho Ts’aiyen, and the real murderers sought for, arrested,
tried, and punished to satisfy popular feeling. It becomes my duty,
therefore, to send this dispatch to your excellency for your
examination and to request that you will communicate its contents to
your honorable government and ask that a generous compensation be
paid, and that the real murderers be promptly sought for and
punished according to law, which is a matter of importance.
A necessary dispatch.
XXX Kuanghsü year, ninth moon, 22d day
(October 30, 1904).
[seal.]
[Inclosure 2.]
Minister Conger
to Prince Chi’ing.
American Legation,
Peking, November 3,
1904.
Your Imperial Highness: I have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of the 30th ultimo of a dispatch from your
imperial highness, informing me that on the evening of September 26
several sailors from an American man-of-war at Canton had without
provocation attacked the comprador of the S. S. Kansu and thrown him into the water, where he was drowned;
that a joint investigation of the affair had been held by deputies,
appointed by the viceroy, in conjunction with the American
consul-general, and that they had agreed together that the
consul-general should report to the American minister at Peking and
request him to ask for indemnity for the family of the murdered man
to be paid by the American Government, and to have further efforts
made to discover and punish the guilty parties.
Your imperial highness, also, upon your own part asks that I will
request my government to make a generous appropriation by way of
compensation to the family of Ho Choy Yeen, the murdered man.
In reply I have the honor to state that I have received a report of
the occurrence from the American consul-general at Canton and that
he has been instructed to continue to make diligent effort to
discover the guilty parties and bring them to justice. I shall at
once communicate the contents of your imperial highness’s dispatch
to my government and recommend that compensation be made to the
family of the murdered man, but I must call your highness’s
attention to the fact that my government may not consider that the
evidence sufficiently proves that the murderers were American
sailors to justify an appropriation for the purpose mentioned.
I improve, etc.,
