This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[40352]
No. 1.
443
[December 1.
SECTION 6.
C.O.
42055
09 DEC 06
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey-(Received December 1.) (No. 421.) Sir,
WITH reference to my despatch No. 390 of the 29th September, I have the
Peking, October 16, 1906. honour to inclose copy of a despatch which I addressed to the Governor of Hong Kong on the 13th October, on the subject of the Canton-Kowloon Railway negotiations. Since writing to Sir Matthew Nathan no formal meeting of the negotiators has taken place, his Excellency Tang Shoa-yi being busily occupied by the visit of His Imperial Highness Prince Fushimi and by extraordinary duties connected with the new system of education. The next meeting is fixed for the 18th October.
I have, &c. (Signed)
J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Governor Sir M. Nathan.
WITH reference to my despatch of the 5th October, inclosing a copy of my
Peking, October 13, 1906. despatch No. 390 to the Foreign Office, I have the honour to inclose, for your information, Minutes of meetings held at the Wai-wu Pu on the 8th and 10th October, between Mr. Bland and the Chinese negotiators of the Canton-Kowloon Railway Final Agreement, together with a copy of a draft Final Agreement which was given to me last evening by Mr. Bland. This draft should be read in conjunction with the Minutes. In an earlier draft which was submitted at the meeting of the 8th October, Mr. Bland made references to the Working Agreement to be concluded by your Excellency with the Viceroy of Canton, and introduced a provision to the effect that the two sections of the railway should be constructed as one continuous line without break. This form of wording was not acceptable to the Chinese negotiators, who also objected to the insertion of a definite limit of time within which negotiations for the Working Agreement should be commenced, and the form given in Article 18 of the inclosed draft was substituted. I do not myself see objection to this Article 18, and I trust that your Excellency will be able to accept it. As regards connection with the Canton-Hankow Railway neither Mr. Bland nor myself consider that the Chinese negotiators would agree to include a provision in the sense you desire, at any rate in the Final Loan Agreement. The stipulation regarding rival lines contained in Article 17 of the printed draft is, as you will see, embodied in Article 15 of the inclosed draft.
I have, &c. (Signed)
J. N. JORDAN,
Inclosure 2 in No. 1.
CANTON-KOWLOON RAILWAY,
Minutes of the Fifth Meeting held at the Wai-wu Pu on Monday, October 8, 1906,
His Excellency Tang Shao-yi.
at 3 P.M.
Present:
Kong Taotai and Mr. Hu, representing his Excellency the Viceroy of Canton, Mr. En, Secretary to the Wai-wu Pu, and
Mr. J. O. P. Bland, representing the British and Chinese Corporation (Limited).
MR. BLAND stated that further instructions from his Board now enabled him to make a final offer for the loan at 93 provided that the matter be promptly settled, and
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