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other special rights of all sorts were worth several million in addition there were over 400,000 dollars of interest due on small bonds and the Company's expense was a quarter of a million making a total of well over ten millions of dollars.
Kinister Liang managed to beat them down to 7 million gold dollars as a firm offer exclusive of small bonds and to carry 5% until payment. This now was arranged only after repeated beating down. Afterwards when receiving the money Morgan pressed for interest accrued on the sell bonds as well and was only reduced to silence by being told that there could be no reopening of points after the draft agreement had been fixed and signed.
Although the Company got a high price it was nothing like the value of the various rights recovered by China. Excessive objection would only have made firmer the Belgian shareholders' design to keep their advantage and obstruct.
In all matters of diplomacy the right thing is to grasp the main question and not grudge small expenses. Then the question of price arose the Hunan gentry Lung Chan-lin and Wang Hsien-ch'ien in a joint telegram told the memorialist that "if we can recognise one by one the small bonds employed by the Company however reckless their issue and extravagant their expenditure provided only there be accounts producible, the American Government should not have any objection".
They added that "to take it over into our own management is indeed the best plan: the three provinces simply seek to recover this line so even extra expense is not to be grudged". Both those statements showed comprehension of...