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on to make the necessary arrangements", and argued
this that the arrangements for the construction of He further said line depended on local conditions.
260
the situation had changed in the interval since the decision of the preliminary agreement and that any in-
tation to compromise would involve both sides in diff-
iculties; and requested that the question of British firms
constructing the Chinese section should be dropped.
(5
I must observe in the first place that the Chinese and
English of the above quotation from (clause) of the Prelim-
inary Agreement do not correspond, and as both texts are
authenticated by the Director-General of Railways both must be
referred to in case of dispute. Mr. Ross, the agent of
British and Chinese Corporation who is now negotiating
in Canton is the person who drafted this clause in 1899
in Shanghai, and he explained to the Viceroy's delegates
that the local difficulties contemplated were interference
with survey parties, feng shui prejudices, troubles over
graves etc., for all of which the Director-General said
that the Viceroy of Canton would if necessary make arrange-
ments.
8.
It is evident therefore that in his communication of
December 20th to Mr. Scott the Viceroy merely proposed to
abrogate the preliminary agreement on the ground that the
situation has changed since 1899. That such a proposition
could be seriously put forward by His Excellency after all
the telegrams and correspondence which has passed on the
subject is amazing. It is enough to remark that if the
abrogation of the preliminary agreement, of March 28th 1899
could be so justified, there would be nothing to prevent
the