4i8  APPENDIX  C
himself  that  his  teaching  is  interfered  with,  or  that  a  Chinese
preacher  or  convert  has  been  interfered  with  or  persecuted,
his  proper  course  is  to  lay  the  facts  before  the  Consul  of  the
district  in  which  he  resides,  who  after  due  examination  will
make  such  representations  to  the  Chinese  authorities  as  the
case  may  require.
His  Majesty’s  Consuls  are  not  authorized  to  delegate  their
duties  in  this  respect  to  missionaries.
I  have  reason  to  know  that  this  view  is  shared  by  the  managing
bodies  of  British  Protestant  Missionary  Societies  who  carry  on
Mission  work  in  China,  and  I  understand  that  it  is  accepted  and
acted  on  by  most  of  the  missionary  bodies  in  China.
The  fg.ct  that  a  missionary  or  the  convert  on  whose  behalf  a
complaint  is  made  resides  at  a  distance  from  one  of  H.M.  Consuls
is  not  sufficient  reason  for  the  missionary  taking  upon  himself
the  duty  of  the  Consul,  and  his  intervention  could  only  be  justified
when  there  was  imminent  danger  of  an  extreme  character  threatening ­
  the  safety  of  converts.
I  have  accordingly  to  request  you  to  act  upon  what  is  laid
down  in  this  Circular,  and  to  acquaint  missionaries  with  its
contents  whenever  it  seems  likely  to  be  departed  from.
I  am  persuaded  that  if  missionaries  uniformly  refrain  from
direct  intervention  on  behalf  of  native  Christians,  and  confine
their  action  to  representing  to  H.M.  Consuls  cases  of  actual  persecution, ­
  such  a  course  will  redound  to  the  preservation  of  peace
between  converts  and  non-converts,  and  to  the  spread  of  a  genuine
Christianity  among  the  people  of  China.
I  am,  etc.,
(Signed)  Ernest  SatoW.