“Are These Persons British or Chinese Subjects?” 461
Probably due to Governor-General Liu’s regret about his hasty
response to Consul Jackson’s earlier complaints, he had now received
a full report on the affair from Intendant Wan of the Ding-Zhang-Long
Circuit. According to the investigation conducted by the local ofβicials,
Lee Shun Fah was a regular resident in his native village.^50 He conducted
business sending cargoes overseas and transporting native villagers
to foreign countries. On account of a shipwreck that caused the loss of
life, the relatives of the dead in the village approached Lee Shun Fah
for an explanation and to ask for the return of the victims’ belongings.
The villagers were in negotiations with Lee about the settlement of
the matter. Therefore, it was not a case of kidnapping. Refuting Consul
Jackson’s allegation, or what even other Chinese ofβicials themselves had
earlier believed, the local ofβicials also veriβied that no violent act had
been committed. Governor-General Liu instructed Lu Zezhang to clarify
the matter with Jackson.^51
The Chinese Imperial Commissioner’s Rebuttal
As the British representative in Amoy, Layton perceived the incident to
have had marked repercussions on the rights of Her Majesty’s subjects
in China. Therefore, on November 29, 1847, he suggested to Davis
that his superior should raise the case immediately with the Chinese
Imperial Commissioner in Canton.^52 Prior to the establishment of the
Zongli Yamen (Ofβice for General Administration) in Peking, in 1861 the
imperial commissioner in Canton “functioned as the ofβicial exclusively in
charge of foreign affairs”.^53 In his capacity as the British plenipotentiary
in China, John Davis followed up the case as requested by Layton
and lodged a protest about the matter with the Chinese Imperial
Commissioner, Qiying.
John Davis received a reply from Acting Imperial Commissioner Xu
Guangjin, concurrently Acting Governor-General of Liang-Guang and
Governor of Guangdong. Commissioner Xu stated that, upon receipt
of a complaint from John Davis, his predecessor, the former Imperial
Commissioner Qiying, had immediately ordered an investigation by the
provincial authorities in Foochow.
- Note that Lee’s wife was living in the natal village.
- FO 228/54, Lu to Jackson, no. 19, November 28, 1847, enclosing a copy of Liu’s
instructions (in Chinese). - FO 663/49: Amoy, no. 93.
- Masataka Banno, China and the West, 1858‒1861: The Origins of the Tsungli
Yamen (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1964), p. 6.