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His Majesty the Emperor of China having sanctioned the Agreement between his Excellency the Liang Kuang Viceroy and the Franco-Chinese Syndicate for the furtherance of trade in Kuang-tung and Kuang-hsi and Hainan, the following are the Regulations with respect thereto :---
1. The Viceroy of the Liang Kuang permits the Syndicate to construct a railway f from Hoihow via Kiungchow to Pai Shan; and also grants to the Syndicate a monopoly of electric lighting at those places.
2. The Company is established in Kuang Tung, and the Agreement is in two parts, identic, one to be kept in the Viceroy's Yamên, the other in that of the French Consul.
3. Work must be commenced within a year from the date on which sanction for the railway is granted. The gauge is to be 1 French ch'ih (1 metre).
4. The usufruct of the railway will be in the hands of the Company for a limited period, namely, six years.
5. At the end of the six years' limit the whole of the usufruct of the line will revert to the Liang Kuang!Viceroy, who will then be under obligation to purchase all the movable property of the line, as the rolling-stock; as well as all stores of coal, &c., and machinery in the workshops, at a price to be fixed by the fair calculation of appointed middlemen acquainted with such matters. If the quantity of coal, &c., stored be excessive, it need not all be purchased, but only sufficient for a six months' supply.
6. At any time under fifteen years the Viceroy will be at liberty to purchase the railway and the Electric Light Works at a price calculated by taking the average annual profit of the last five years increased by 20 per cent., as representing interest at 3 per cent. on the purchase price.
7. Tariffs can be drawn up later.
8. The profits of the Company will pay a royalty of 5 per cent. to the Liang Kuang Viceroy. For the last year of the Company's tenure, royalty will be paid at the rate of 71 per cent. Rovalties will be due in the third month of each year.
These Regulations seem to be very loosely drawn up, and are hardly adequate to provide for the management of so considerable an enterprise as that proposed.
They have not, of course, received the assent of the Viceroy, and the whole question of railways and electric lighting in Hainan has been referred to the Taotai of the Lei Ch'iung circuit, which includes Hainan, for report. (See Mr. Scott's despatch No. 21, 1902, General).
Hsin Ch'in, the officer newly appointed to the post in question, paid a visit to His Majesty's Consul-General on the 19th March. He is an official with some knowledge and experience of international affairs, and is well acquainted with Mr. Acheson, the present Commissioner of Customs at Kiung-chow, with whom his relations are very friendly. From remarks let fall by him during the interview. it does not seem probable that he will report favourably upon the proposed railway and electric lighting schemes.
The Huang Sha Reclamation and the Yüch-Han Railway Syndicate.
The situation in respect to the Huang Sha Reclamation and the claims of the Yüeh- Han Syndicate to occupy the whole of the reclaimed area for railway purposes, has become much more clearly defined since the last Report of this series was written.
The dispute respecting this reclaimed land, which formed the subject of despatch No. 10, General, of this Consulate-General, remains unsettled, in spite of repeated efforts of the Viceroy to induce the contending parties to moderate their claims.
His Excellency Sheng and the local Managing Director, Chang Chien Hsün, appear to have made up their minds that the whole of the reclaimed land, as well as the remaining area still unreclaimed but forming part of the grant made to the original Huang Sha concessionnaires, is absolutely essential for purposes of the Yüch-Han Railway; and their claim appears to become more firmly established as the dispute progresses. The Viceroy is anxious for an arrangement satisfactory to both sides, and particularly that the powerful influence which supports the Yüch-Han Syndicate shall not be allowed to cause gross injustice to the concessionnaires who received their charter from Li Hung-chang, His Excellency, accordingly, in January, appointed the Nam Hoi Magistrate to enter into negotiations with Chang Chien Hsün, and these negotiations have been in progress for two months with repeated reference to the high provincial authorities but without a final settlement being arrived at.
It appears that the concessionnaires estimate the work already completed by them at a sum of 200,000 taels, which is presumably intended to include some margin of profit for themselves if they are compelled to abandon the Concession. The Yueh-Han Syndicate
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estimated the work at 25,000 taels, and invited the concessionnaires to furnish proof of the sums expended by them; the latter admitted their inability to do so, owing, they said, to the fact that large sums had been expended in preliminary arrangements with various officials, &c. Subsequently his Excellency Shêng authorized Chang Chien Hsun to offer 40,000 taels. This sum was raised to 60,000 taels by Chang himself. The Provincial Treasurer then came forward, and said that he would be prepared to try and obtain the acceptance of the concessionnaires if the sum could be raised to 80,000 taels. But Chang and the Syndicate refuse to do this, and matters are now at a deadlock, Chang declaring that he would rather return to the Straits, where he has a large fortune invested in mines and other property, than trouble himself any further with the Yüeh-Han Railway. He has a great reputation for wealth in Canton, and is known here as the Malay King or Malay Prince.
Engineers for Yüeh-Hun Railway.
A party of thirteen American engineers are expected to arrive in Canton shortly ready to commence work upon the railway, and Chang Chien Hsun has already at his disposal a sum of 400,000 taels provided by his Excellency Shêng out of the capital obtained from native shareholders, to enable the work to be commenced.
Police matters.
Diminution of Piracy and Robbery.
Since the commencement of the present Chinese year news of piracies and robberies in the delta has practically ceased, and it seems as if, for the time at least, a comparatively orderly state of affairs exists in that region. This may be due to the efforts of the Lieutenant- authorities, which have been redoubled during the past three months. Commander Webster, of His Majesty's ship "Moorhen" (formerly of His Majesty's ship "Robin ") has spoken in high praise of the activity and energy of Li Chia Cho, the new Acting Magistrate of the Shun Tê district, and of the Viceroy's officers generally. Commander Webster has reported to his Excellency Admiral Bridge a diminution of piracy in the river, and gives bis opinion that this is entirely due to the efforts of the Viceroy and his subordinates, especially Li Chia Cho.
It will be remembered that the shots which struck the steam-ship" Nanning" in the Tam Chao Channel were fired during an organized expedition against piracies not far from Shun Tak district city.
It remains to be seen whether the present more satisfactory state of things will continue. Expectations in this respect have been so often disappointed in the past that a permanent improvement is not readily credited. It may not be out of place to mention here the opinion of a well educated Chinese who visited this Consulate-General during January last, and whose view is that frequency of crime is due to over-population and consequent poverty. He added that matters had been gradually getting worse and worse in this respect, especially since the closing of various countries to coolie immigration. The only solution of the difficulty, he said, was the establishment of new industries and the development of railway and mining enterprise, which might employ large sections of the population who would otherwise sink through poverty into crime.
Protection of Launches.
The proposal by Captain Yang of the Shameen guard mentioned in the last report for a number of soldiers to be placed on board all launches leaving Canton has now been put into effect. Launch fares have been raised 10 per cent. to provide for the cost of carrying out the scheme, which is looked upon by the Chinese as likely merely to enrich Captain Yang. The following Regulations have further been issued by the Board of Reorganization:-
1. Owners of launches and towed boats are hereby informed that such craft must only stop at regular landing stages, and must not stop to pick up passengers promiscuously at all places. If they do so, they will incur a fine, and, in the event of passengers being robbed, they will be responsible for compensation.
2. At each anchoring place a guard boat is to be placed, the officers in charge of which will see that their men carefully search all passengers and their luggage for arms, and keep a good look-out for suspicious characters.
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