to the Colony, would be largely enhanced in value.
5.
There is no more important factor,
187
then,
in the development of this Colony than that of railway com-
munication with Canton and the trunk line to Hankow, and as
far as the purely commercial interests of the Colony are con-
cerned it does not much matter whether the railway is construct-
ed by and American or by a British Syndicate.
The latter, however, hold the concession
to build the line and I would venture to suggest that pressure
should be brought to hear on the British and Chinese Corpora-
tion, whose Chairmen is Mr. William Keswick, M.P., and whose
Agents in London are the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corpora-
tion, to begin the building of the line.
6.
While the gentlemen helonging to the
American Company I have mentioned were busy impressing upon
me the desirability of railway connection between Hongkong
and their trunk line, I on my part used my best endeavours to
ascertain the truth or otherwise of certain rumours current
in the Colony to the effect that the Belgian holdings of shares
in the American China Development Company were, as in the
case of the shares in the Peking-Hankow Railway Syndicate, in
reality holdings on behalf of the Russian Government, and
that large numbers of the shares in the Corporation mentioned,
originally held by Americans, had been purchased on the New
York Stock Exchange on behalf of Russia.
*
I have been assured on very good authority
that in both the Syndicate and Company referred to, the
Belgian holdings are really Russian holdings. On the other
hand Mr. Brice, the Secretary of the Company, states that as
far