RAASLOFF, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of Denmark to To his Imperial Highness Prince Kung and the, February 20, 1875

General Raasloff to Prince Kung and the ministers of the Yamen.

Sirs: The undersigned has the honor, agreeably to what passed between us at the interview on the 17th instant, to confirm by this dispatch that according to the report he has received from Mr. Dreyer, the general agent of the Great Northern (Danish) Telegraph Company, which has been for some time engaged in putting up a telegraphic line between Foo-chow and Amoy, the company’s workmen have been, without any provocation on their part, attacked in many places, either by armed men or regular soldiers, the people in their employ maltreated, some of them rather severely wounded, their tools carried off, some watch-houses of the company torn down, and a considerable amount of material, consisting of several hundred posts, telegraph-wire, &c, taken up or stolen.

Since the date of this report, a length of line about a hundred li or more still remains, and the cable which has been laid to join the island of Amoy with the main-land was still untouched; but the undersigned, who will be obliged to claim an indemnity for the losses now sustained by the company, urgently requests that your imperial highness and the ministers will have the goodness, above all, to take efficient measures to repress these acts of violence, and to stop the destruction and robbery of the material, as it is of considerable value.

The undersigned will, on his part, obtain from the general agent of the company an account of the losses it has sustained by the violence now inflicted on it; and he will, at the same time, recommend him to ask of the chief director of the company at Copenhagen an authorization to sell to the Chinese government for whatever he can get, as it may seem to be good to him, the part of the line which is or may be still extant, the cable above mentioned, the boats, posts, &c.; in short, all the material which the company has accumulated or ordered for constructing this telegraphic line between Foo-chow and Amoy.

The undersigned requests your imperial highness and ministers to let him know what public officer will be authorized to acquire this material, and to have the goodness to instruct him to acquaint the general agent when he will be ready to enter into negotiation about the matter.

The undersigned seizes this occasion to renew to your imperial highness, and their excellencies the ministers, the assurance of his high and respectful consideration.