Parkes and Martineau to Pi ch'eng-chao. British and French merchants have been deprived...

FO 682/1992/25b

1859 Jul 6/HF 9 06 07

Parkes and Martineau to Pi ch'eng-chao. British and French merchants have been deprived of a proper place in which to live and trade in Canton ever since the foreign factories were burnt down in 1856. There are two possible sites for a new factory area which will meet all the needs of the merchants. One is Hsi-hao-k'ou area adjoining the former factory area to the east, where all local houses were also burnt down in 1856. The other is Shameen [Sha-mien] which submerges at high tide. The former involves compensation to landlords; the latter has to be reclaimed, which will take up to eighteen months. If Chinese authorities can guarantee completion of reclamation to the satisfaction of the Chief Engineer from Hong Kong within eighteen months, then Hsi-hao-k'ou will not be forcibly bought. Estimated cost of reclamation is $264,000, which will be deducted from indemnity to be demanded from China. Chinese authorities should prohibit the re-building of houses in Hsi-hao-k'ou area until reclamation of Shameen is completed.

8 pages

F.O. 682/769/3/10

Public Record(s)

Chinese

Additional safe handling procedures are in place. This record must be ordered in advance. We are aware of the existence of some duplicate descriptions which make the identification and production of these records (in Chinese) difficult.

Open Document, Open Description

This record may have been treated with insecticide as part of a historical preservation treatment before transfer to The National Archives. Please see this webpage for more information about access to affected records and the additional safe handling procedures that are in place. If you have any concerns about handling affected records, please contact us at AdvancedDocumentOrder@nationalarchives.gov.uk before planning a visit.