THE NEW CONSUL A SCHOLARLY CHINESE STUDENT

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 49, 27 February 1913, Page 3

THE NEW CONSUL A SCHOLARLY CHINESE STUDENT

SIXTEEN YEARS A DIPLOMAT. [fbom or/a own correspondent.] LONDON, l?th January. If the revolution had not intervened, Mr. Kwei Chili, the Second Secretary at the Chinese Legation in London, would have gone to New Zealand as Consul' a year ago. Ho had actually been appointed and had provided himself with many books on the country, for the purpose of study, when the change of (.tovernment suspended the appointment and he has remained hero. ■ ' Mr. Kwei Chih, who is about forty years of age, has been for sixteen years m the Foreign Office of China, and for the last flix out of China. Educated, as he says, under the Old School, he became, and still remains, a Professor of History and Geography at the ancient University of Tientsin, "and since coming to England he has been the close friend of Professor Gfiles (Cambridge) and other prominent educational authorities. He speaks English with some difficulty, explainable by the fact that he did not commence to learn until he was past thirty years of age; but ho has studied closely the best English authors, particularly on sociology, political science, and economics. Like most of the young Chinese, Mr. Kwei has an insatiable thirst for Western knowledge, and Lord Justice Buckley tells an amusing story of him. When travelling down to the Naval Review in the summer of 1911 the Judge got into a carriage in which were several well-dressed Japanese and Chinese, and one of the latter opened conversation in an original manner by grasping Lord Justice Buckley's shoulders with his hands and asking him, "What do you think of the referendum? " and " What is your view of the House of Lords? " The Chinaman in question was Air. Kwei himself. Owing to his position in China, Mr. Kwei has been entrusted with much' of the important duty of overlooking Chinese students studying at .the schools and universities of England. DIPLOMATIC EXPERIENCE. *Mr. Kwei first left China about six years ago to become Second Secretary to' the Legation at Washington, where he spent two years'." His chief was the celebrated Wo Ting Fangj and Mr. Kwei accompanied him on an important mission to investigate and adjust a difficulty with the Chinese residents of Peru. This was a most interesting undertaking. It seems that there are 60,000 Chinese residents in Peru, and Chinese merchants appear to have captured a very lucrative and important part of the commerce of the country. At any rate, during his visit Wo Ting Fang was entertained at a reception by 200 Chinese merchants, all of whom appeared dressed in silk hat 3 and frock coats. * Mr. Kwei has had some experience here, too, of adjusting troubles in which his countrymen became involved. During the dock strikes at Cardiff the m&ny Chinese seamen who are concentrated in that port were attacked by strikers and practically all the windows of the Chinese' laundries and shops were broken. Mr. Kwei was sent down to investigate the matter, and he is very proud of the settlement he was able to arrive at. He states that here, as has been the experience in New Zealand, the' Chinese residents are invariably orderly and law-abiding, and a consul's duties in that respect will not be heavy. Mr. Kwei leaves for New Zealand on 1 14 th February, travelling by way of Suez, and "his appointment is for three years. He had rather an unpleasant experience when he endeavoured to book his passage. As a member of the Legation in London he has lived ratefree and has received everything he imported from abroad without paying any Customs duty. Yet when he wished to book for New Zealand the Immigration Restriction Law of the Dominion brought him up standing and the company would not accept hiß passage money until he obtained a certificate from the High Commissioner that he was indeed an accredited consul, AN INVENTIVE SON. Mrs. Kwei will accompany' her husband to New Zealand, and it is now, also decided that the son, Mingßin Kwei, aged 16, will go with them. This is a matter which has caused a good deal of doubt. Young Kwei, who has been educated at one 'of the schools of the London University, is decidedly mechani- . cal in his tastes, and a few months ago won a prize in a competition for the construction of practical aeroplane^ (When I entered the underground sta« tion I met Mingsin coming out with the aeroplane in his hand, wrapped in contemplation of it). Kingsin has jiisV been awarded by the Chinese Govern" ment a scholarship of £200 a year for seven years, and it took some delibera-tion-to decide whether he should abandon such an excellent chance and go with his parents to New Zealand. Eventually parental affection decided it.