VISIT OF A CHINESE ENVOY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 178, 23 April 1908, Page 6

VISIT OF A CHINESE ENVOY.

trade relations with .. .AUSTRALASIA, i' [BT IELEGBAPH.—BPJSCIAII COIUIESFONDENT.) • Auckland; April 22. By tlio ■ stcanior' Atua'thoro arrived in Auckland' a distinguished Oriental visitor in Mr.; Thomas Ling, a mandarin and special envoy ;of the Chinese Empire. Mfrv. Ling 1 b mission was to inquire into the labour con-* ditions of the. Chinese' in Samoa'.' ' Interviewed by a " Star" representative this afternoon Air. Ling' gave' some interesting particulars of,the.result of his visit. "Submission," the envoy explained, "was to inquire .on behalf- of the ; Chinese Government into . the intricate position .Chinese labourors in Samoa . now. found r themselves in. ! Under-prevailing,labour conditions matters have reached something, of a crisis, and over 1000 Chinese plantation workers were in danger of being placed under, a serious injustice. lam now satisfied, however, • that the; Chief- Justice / and 'Acting-Governor of Samoa - will seoj the force of the situation and remedy the evils under which my countrymen labour.' 1 ' ; \ , Asked what was being done' by the, Chinese Government in oonnection with the production, _of an exchange of trade aM improving relations (between Australasia and' China, Mr. Lings replied that it was likely that his Government would \ very shortly appoint Chinese Consuls in Sydney and Auckland. He 'had just had the pleasure of lunching with the Governor (Lord Plunkot), and His Excellency had been good enough to remark that lie would be exceedingly pleased to! welcome a representative of the Chinese Government to New. Zealand. ' An effort was made to entice Mr. Ling to speak of the relations between China ana Japan, but while he admitted that there was a growing: feeling' in China that the Japanese were trespassing, on Chinese rights,' he. refused to be drawn into any committing statements. The Chinese, envoy is a bright, clover little man, whose education has evidently been perfected, in th.i, highest schools.. -He talks English fluently, and is altogether , a brilliant conversationalist. Ha is. quite' a young man. : He graduated, from: the 1 Anglo-Chinese College at Foochow, and'entered the Straits. Settlements . service at Singapore, where ho had the opportunity of studying European customs, and subsequently entered the American Con sulato at Foochow, to which he was attached for. ten years. \ ;The Chinese,, Government;, then showed its appreciation of. his knowledge of foreign, relations, and took him into 'this Government service, and when the Sarnoan, difficulty - cropped up lie was entrusted ; with the mission. ' . To-morrow Mr. Ling leaves - for Rotorua, and on Monday' ho leaves for Sydney, en route for China. . •'