COPY. No. 158.)
Eulorum 6. &- Soul Peopard _xijinfók-
ino.
IKEC
14567
Reef 1 5536
H.B.M.Consulate-General,
Canton, 26th October, 1906.
Your Excellency,
Referring to your letters of the 22nd and 25th instant relative to the appointment of an Assistant Engineer for the Canton-Hankow Railway, I have the honour to state that I have just had a long conversation with Mr. Kwong Suen now Chief Engineer of the projected line. I began by pointing out to him that, though we did not assume any right to dictate what foreigners should or should not be appointed to assist in the construction of the Railway, it would, after the special assistance given by the Government of Hongkong to enable China to redeem the concession, be considered both by us and by other nationalities as an intended slight if at any rate the head of any foreign staff engaged were other than an Englishman. That I thought a courteous and punctilious nation like the Chinese should be able thoroughly to understand our feeling in such a matter. Mr. Kwong said he quite appreciated the situation.
His Excellency
Sir Matthew Nathan,
K.C.M.G.,
&c.
Hongkong.