of foreign nationality.
(Official seal of the
Chinese Railway Ad-
ministration.
(Signed) Sheng-Hsuan Huai.
Director General of Railways.
>
(Translation.)
Enclos 2 m Nor
The Tsung-Li Yamên to Mr. Bax-Ironside,
PEKING,
May 10th 1899.
477
Sir:-
On the 6th instant we received your letter to
the effect that in the prospectus issued by the
Belgian Syndicate it is stated that China has pro-
ised that in the event of the abandonment of the
American Contract for the Hankow-Canton Railway the
Belgian Syndicate will be intrusted with the construc-
tion of that line. You added that you had heard that this
promise was given subsequently to the settlement of
the Belgian Agreement, and you inquired whether such
an arrangement had been made.
We have the honour to inform you that neither
the Belgian Agreement in twenty-nine clauses nor the
Supplementary Agreement in ten clauses contains any
such stipulation, and that there has been no subse-
quent arrangement of any kind.
We have, &c.,
(Cards of their Excellencies the Min- isters inclosed).
5