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FFAIRS OF CHINA,
CONFIDENTIAL.
7
[May 25.]
SECTION 2.
50. 84.)
No. 1.
The Marquess of Lunsdowne to Sir E. Satow.
Foreign Office, May 25, 1905.
elegraphic.) P.
PROJECT to construct railway to Whampoa. The Colonial Office represent that the hastening of the negotiations respecting the anton-Kowloon Railway would be the best safeguard against above-mentioned roject.
Suggestions to the same effect have been made independently by the British and hinese Corporation and the Hong Kong China Association, but the former express pprehension that great procrastination is threatened by the present pause in the egotiations and by the intervention of Shêng.
Reasonable time must be given to the Chinese Government to consider the roposal, but it should be made plain to them that we expect the matter to be settled with expedition, as the Hong Kong Government are interested in it.
We also expect that means will be found to avoid a recurrence of the interminable delays in recent railway negotiations which have been caused by Sheng's obstruction.
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