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A
Part of The Report from the British Embassy, Peking
The Chahar Provincial
authorities and the local special delegate for foreign affairs were in
constant telephonic communication with the Embassy. At Peking the Embassy
kept in close touch with the Acting Chairman of the Peking Political
Readjustment Council by frequent interviews, which have been summarised in
the relative telegraphic correspondence. As regards the Japanese
authorities, it appeared at first desirable to deal solely with the Chinese
authorities so long as the bandits did not cross the Jehol border, in order
that they might be afforded no excuse for evading their responsibilities. On
receiving word, however, that as stated in my telegram No, 775 Mr. Jones was
in Chengte (Jehol City) - see paragraph 6 below - I instructed the Military
Attaché to this Embassy to make enquiries of the Japanese Military Attaché,
Colonel Takahashi, as to whether he had any information, and thereafter
Colonel Lovat—Fraser kept in close touch with his Japanese colleague.
5. The original demands of the
bandits as stated in Dr. Mueller’s report (enclosure 1) were for $100,000
and arms and ammunition. This was later reduced to $50,000,and some days
later again raised to the original sum. At one time it was reported that the
ransom had been reduced to the sum of $8,000 but it subsequently transpired
that this was a mere rumour emanating from the fact that the district
magistrate at Kuyuan had expressed the opinion that if the bandits reduced
their demand to $50,000 they might in future further reduce it to $8,000. It
should be added here that at all times the Chinese authorities expressed
willingness to pay army ransom within reason which might be demanded by the
bandits and that both at Peking and Kalgan the Chinese authorities gave
repeated assurances of their conviction that Mr. Jones’ life was not in
danger and that it was only a question of’ time before he would be released.
6. To revert to the movements of
the bandits subsequent to the release of Dr. Mueller, it appears that
shortly after the Paochang Hsien district authorities had established
contact with the bandits the latter moved to the neighbourhood of Kuyuan
Hsien near the Jehol. border. Fresh steps were taken by the Chinese
authorities to get in touch with the bandits and negotiations were opened
with them through the Ku3ruan Hsien magistrate. About this period
(3rd/4thAugust) the bandits moved over the old border of Jehol into Fengning
Hsien and this news gave rise to the report mentioned in my telegram No. 755
that Mr. Jones had been rescued by “Manchoukuo” troops and was being
escorted to Chengte. At no time however did the bandits proceed far into
Jehol and the Chinese authorities remained in touch with them and continued
confident Of Mr. Jones eventual release. The bandits then moved west again
into what is nominally Chinese territory and on the 9th August the Chinese
authorities at Kalgan informed Lieutenant Millar that Mr. Jones had been
seen the previous evening at a place about half-way between Kuyuan and
Tushih K’ou, and that he was thin but in good health. The bandits now split
into two bands, the one going north—west towards Paochang and the other
retracing its steps south—east. It was not known with certainty which band
held Mr. Jones but it was thought probable by the Chinese authorities that
he was with the latter. Difficulties hitherto unexplained occurred in the
progress of the negotiations and the middle man sent to negotiate with the
bandits is said to have been detained and later shot. Doubtless in
consequence of this development the Chinese authorities decided to take
action to surround the former band, no action being possible against the
latter owing to their proximity to the Jehol border. The next development
was that on the 16th August Lieutenant Millar received a report that a
foreigner bad been shot by bandits in the Paochang area and on the following
day the Chahar Provincial authorities informed him that the person in
question was Mr. Jones. It later transpired that as stated in Lieutenant
Millar’s summary of evidence (enclosure 3) Mr. Jones had been on the 12th
August, after 15 days of captivity, shot to death by the bandits at T’ou Tao
Kou in the vicinity of the villages of Tsao Chia Fang Tsu and Meng Ohia Ying
Tzu, just Inside the eastern border of Kang Pao Hsien. On the afternoon of
17th August the Acting Chairman of the Peking Political Readjustment Council
sent to inform me officially that Mr. Jones had been killed and to express
his sincere regrets. I at once made representations to the Wai Chiao Pu
pressing for a full enquiry and for the arrest and punishment of the
murderers; copy of my note of the 21st August and of the Wai Chiao Pu’ a
note of 30th August in reply were forwarded to you in my despatches Nos.
1328 of the 21st August and 1339 of the 4th September referred to above. It
will be observed from the report of the Chahar provincial authorities quoted
in the Wai Chiao Pu Note of the 30th August that four bandits are said to
have been killed and one mortally wounded in an encounter between them and
the Pao An Tul on the very evening of the murder.
7. It is clear that this incident, apart
from the difficulties occasioned from its occurrence in the new
Demilitarised Zone from which Sung Che-yuan a troops had recently been
withdrawn, was no ordinary case of kidnapping. Repeated hints were given by
the Chinese authorities at Kalgan to Lieutenant Millar that the Japanese
were suspected to be implicated (see in particular Lieutenant Millar’s
report No.6, copy of which is enclosed), and the “political” character of
the case was emphasized by the Acting Chairman of the Peking Political
Readjustment Council at the Chinese Secretary’ a interview with him on the
3rd August as reported in my telegram No. ‘742 of that date. in his
confidential report Dr. Mueller states that the bandits told him that they
were Chinese from Manchoukuo who had entered the Japanese service and had
received from a Japanese authority in Jehol a commission to cross the Jehol
border and create trouble, and it appears that they had just made an
unsuccessful attempt on a Mongol militia leader named Mao of the White
Mongol Banner. Dr. Mueller also states that the route taken by himself and
Mr. Gareth Jones on their return from Dolonor was recommended to them by the
Japanese as the best and safest route, and that the bandits produced to him
brand new notes of the Manchuria Central Bank and that their machine gun was
manufactured by the Mukden Arsenal, but the Japanese Military Authorities at
Dolonor may have indicated the particular route in question owing to their
desire to divert the party from the main road to Kalgan along which much
military transport was said to be proceeding, and as regards the bank notes
Dr. Mueller does not actually appear to have seen the large quantities of
notes which the bandits said they possessed. The bandits certainly seem to
have been strangers to the district as they frequently impressed local
Chinese as guides while their frequent and rapid moves go to show that they
had few or no sympathisers among the local inhabitants. In addition to Dr.
Mueller’s statement referred to above, the Rengo representative at Peking
informed Messrs Reuters’ representative about the 15th August, and before
the death of Jones was known to this Embassy, that Colonel Takahashi had
some days previously told him, that the remnants of Shih Yu—san’ a troops
were responsible for the kidnapping, that these men had been employed by the
Japanese last January to create trouble in the Demilitarized Zone (the
Tushih K’ou-Kuyang Incident), that thereafter they were paid off by the
Japanese and let loose in the Zone, and that they were consequently between
two stools, being afraid of the Chinese authorities who knew of their
participation in the January incident and unable to return to Jehol because
the Japanese had paid them off. The Japanese authorities naturally deny that
they are in any way responsible for the capture and I understand that an
official denial to this effect has been sent to the European Press; Colonel
Takahashi also denied in conversation with Mr. D’Alton of Havas News Agency
that the Japanese authorities at Dolonor had authorised Messrs Mueller and
Jones to take the road they did, but admitted that a conference had taken
place between Dr. Mueller and the Japanese authorities at Dolonor regarding
which route they should take. The Japanese authorities appeared to have had
some grounds for wishing to cover themselves, since, at the request of
Colonel Takahashi who visited Kalgan on the 13th August by plane from
Taiyuanfu the Chief of the Chinese police at Kalgan (Chang Yun Jeng)
furnished him with a written statement which Colonel Takahashi showed to
Colonel Lovat—Fraser on the 13th August, the gist of the statement being as
follows:
“After the release of Mueller, the Chahar
authorities despatched a special police force to Kuyuan and Paochang in
order to warn the bandits that no harm was to be done to Jones. In addition
they des— patched special representatives in order to open up secret
negotiations with the bandits. The police were unable to get in touch with
the bandits, and therefore proceeded to “clear tip” other bandit bands in
that area. This had the effect of frightening the bandits who are now
holding Jones, and they have split up into small parties of 3—5 and are
hiding in the mountains. They have discarded their uniform and are now
wearing civilian clothes”.
8. Pending any further information which
may become available later, any question of responsibility must remain
largely a matter of conjecture. Messrs Mueller and Jones had in their
journey closely approached the Outer Mongolian Frontier and they entered
Dolonor without the Japanese military authorities being aware of their
presence till the following day; Mr. Jones moreover had been making notes on
the way and talking to all and sundry. The suspicion that the Japanese
authorities had something to do with their difficulties cannot be lightly
dismissed and it may well be that some junior Japanese military officers
engineered the plot to have Mr. Jones and Dr. Mueller kidnapped as a warning
to other journalists to keep out of forbidden territory, and that the
situation later got out of the hands of the Japanese concerned. Nor can the
possibility be altogether dismissed that the capture of Messrs Jones and
Mueller was intended to create another “incident” in order to provide the
Japanese with an excuse for further military action in Chahar. Against these
suspicions it is only fair to set the fact that Colonel Takahashi informed
the Military Attaché to this Embassy that orders had been issued to the
Kwantung military authorities to do all within their power to effect a
release and he suggested to Colonel Lovat-Fraser that the British
authorities should strongly press the Chinese authorities to send a delegate
to Kuyuan with ransom money and open negotiations with the bandits, and he
thought it possible that on the receipt of the ransom the bandits would move
eastwards into Jehol and they would then be dealt with by the Japanese. It
would appear that the Japanese authorities wished to make certain that any
kudos that might be gained from the release of Mr. Jones should accrue to
the Japanese. On the whole, it seems more probable that while certain
Japanese elements may have been connected with the bandits and while the
Japanese military authorities may have been responsible for their original
presence in the area in question the Japanese authorities must be acquitted
of direct connivance in the affair and that the actual kidnapping was the
work of the bandits themselves. The final murder of Mr. Jones by the
bandits, allegedly owing to the fact that he could not keep up with them
from weakness and exhaustion, still remains an Inexplicable feature of the
case unless as stated above the bandits felt that there was no refuge for
them either in Japanese or Chinese controlled territory and they shot their
prisoner on the principle that dead men tell no tales.
9. A copy of a sketch map of the
area affected’ is enclosed for convenience of reference.
I have the honour to be,
With the highest respect,
Sir,
Your most obedient,
humble Servant,
R.G.Howe
In the absence of H.M. Ambassador
Map of Final Journey (Click here)
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