letter re George Leslie Mackay Tamsui 1885

Foreign and Commonwealth Office did not have the information requested.

Dear Sir or Madam,

I find in a book "The Black-Bearded Barbarian" by Marian Keith published in Toronto, Canada, 1912, the following letter, with the claim that the British Consulate in Tamsui, Formosa (now Taiwan), had issued it in 1885. Could you please confirm that such a letter or one similar to it was indeed so issued? If so, and the text of the original is substantially different, could you please provide a copy of the original?

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Dr Kaihsu Tai

* * * beginning of quote * * *

British Consulate, Tamsui,

May 27th, 1885.

To THE OFFICER IN CHIEF COMMAND OF THE FRENCH FORCES AT KELUNG:

The bearer of this paper, the Rev. George Leslie Mackay, D.D., a British subject, missionary in Formosa, wishes to enter Kelung, to visit his chapel and his house there, and to proceed through Kelung to Kap-tsu-lan on the east coast of Formosa to visit his converts there. Wherefore I, the undersigned, consul for Great Britain at Tamsui, do beg the officer in chief command of the French forces in Kelung to grant the said George Leslie Mackay entry into, and a free and safe passage through, Kelung. He will be accompanied by two Chinese followers, belonging to his mission, named, respectively, Giam Chheng Hoa, and Iap Sun.

A. FRATER, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul at Tamsui.

* * * end of quote * * *

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Dear Mr Tai

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request. It has been passed to
the relevant section within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to deal
with. They will be in touch with you should your request need
clarification.

We received your request on 23 July 2008 and will aim to respond within 20
working days.

Yours

Samuel Osei-Wusu
Information Management Group
Information Rights Team

show quoted sections

Dear Madam or Sir,

I thank you for your response on this matter, which I quote below. I understand that you do not hold the information I requested, as they have been transferred to The National Archives (TNA) at Kew.

Again, many thanks.

* * *

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION (FOI) REQUEST REF: 0607-08

I refer to your email enquiry of 22 July about a letter from the British Consul at Tamsui in 1885.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not hold any papers on this subject. They have been transferred to The National Archives (TNA) at Kew and you will, therefore, need to visit there to view the files.

The following link to their catalogue search may help you with your research.
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catal...

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me. Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.

If you are unhappy with the service you have received in relation to your request and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, you should write to me. Please note any request for an internal review must be submitted within 40 working days from the date our response was issued. If you are not content with the outcome of your complaint, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision.
Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted the complaints procedure provided by the FCO. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at The Information Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Team