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of the Administration, Chinese as well as British, doubtless wish
to have guidance is how they should act, in order that they may best
impede the endeavours of the Japanese Government to obtain the great-
est possible quantity of coa from the Kaiping Mines for purposes
calculated to increase the Japanese war effort.
On a general consideration of the situation of transport
prior to the outbreak of hostilities, and in the light of the events
which have since occurred, the Committee of Management of the Chinese-
Engineering & Mining Company are convinced that the amount of coal
becoming avaiable for such purposes from month to month must now be
limited by the transportation resources available to the Japanese and
not by the output of the Kai ping Kines. Though at the outbreak of
war the stocks of coal in the Administration's stocking-ground were
low, it is surmised that during the last half year stocks at the
Mines and at Chinwangtao, the port of shipment for Japan, must have
greatly increased. In such circumstances the reduction of the
output of the lines, or even the temporary stoppage of output, would
and not affect the rate of supply to Japan/to other places where work is
being done for the Japanese, and by withholding their co-operation in
the working of the Lines British employees of the Administration
could not possibly expect to accomplish more than this. When Great
Britain declared war on Japan a state of hostility between China and
Japan had already existed for three years. Throughout the whole of
this period the Chinese employees of the Administration continued to
A val work the Mines, notwithstanding the fact that some 2 million tons a
were being year have been
exported to Japan, and that it was well-known that
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