This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government
HINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
161991
No. 1.
[May 28.1
21013
256
SECTION 13 JUN 07,
Sir,
Foreign Office to British and Chinese Corporation.
Foreign Office, May 28, 1907. WITH reference to the letter from this Department of the 6th February last, I am directed by Secretary Sir E. Grey to inform you that a despatch has been received from His Majesty's Minister at Poking on the subject of the Soochow-Ningpo Railway negotiations.
Sir J. Jordan states that a line of railway direct from Shanghae to Kashing, and ending there, would not, in his opinion, injure by its competition either the Shanghae- Nanking or Soochow-Ningpo Railways, and that he cannot see how its construction could be construed as constituting an infringement of the Agreements concluded by the Chinese Government with the British and Chinese Corporation respecting those two railways. He points out that an examination of the map will show that such a railway can in no sense be regarded as a rival or a parallel line to the Shanghae- Nanking or Soochow-Ningpo lines, and any objections made to its construction could mot fail, in the present temper of the Chinese, seriously to prejudice the interests of British Railway enterprise. It would be tantamount to telling the Chinese that they were to be debarred from building lines to connect with railways in which we are interested, and such an intimation would tend to exclude us from further participation in the construction of railways in China.
On the other hand, any prolongation of the Shanghae-Kashing line beyond Kashing in the direction of Hangchow or Soochow would, Sir J. Jordan admits, form a legitimate ground of protest.
The information which Sir J. Jordan received from His Majesty's Consul at Hangchow confirms generally the statement in the letter from the British and Chinese Corporation with regard to the amount of work that has been done there by the Chekiang Railway Administration.
Dr. Morrison, the correspondent of the "Times," who has just returned from Shanghae, where he inquired into the question, has informed Sir J. Jordan that about 9 miles of earthwork have been thrown up, and that a quantity of rails rejected by the Peking-Hankow line has been purchased from the IIanyang Ironworks, but he attaches no serious importance to the work that has been done, and expresses the conviction that the project will be abandoned as soon as the people who have provided the funds begin to realize that their money is being wasted.
Although this opinion is shared by all whom Sir J. Jordan has consulted on the subject, it is, he thinks, nevertheless advisable that there should be no further delay in resuming the negotiations for the Soochow-Ningpo line.
I am, &c.
[2481 ce--1]
(Signed)
F. A. CAMPBELL.