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subject is to invalidate it. As, however, the construction of a railway between Bhamo, in Upper Burma, and T'engyueh is at the present time under consideration by the Government of India, I found myself unable to undertake to forward the present request to Your Excellency unless the words "or T'engyueh" were deleted, or some explanation were forthcoming that their presence in the documents transmitted by me would not be taken as an admission that the British can have no part in a T'engyueh Railway.
I accordingly wrote privately to Ting chih-t'ai pointing out that I had more than once informed him that I had received instructions to discuss with him the construction of a railway from Bhamo to T'engyueh as soon as I shall have received a communication from the Government of India informing me of the nature of the proposals to be made. Pending the receipt of such communication, I suggested that the words "and T'engyueh" should be struck out.
Yesterday his two confidential advisers, Kuei-fu, the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, and Chiang Li-ch'eng, Acting Superintendent of Telegraphs