[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[13464]
No. 1.
394
C.
4463
[April 26.
TRES SECTION JUL 07
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey--(Received April 26.)
(No. 68.) (Telegraphic.) P.
ŠINO-JAPANESE Railway Agreement,
Peking, April 26, 1907.
It is stipulated in the above recent Agreement, a summary of which was, I believe, published by the "Times," that the Chinese Government shall convert the existing light railway between Hsin-Min-Tun and Mukden into a line constructed by themselves, and that a loan shall be raised from the South Manchurian Railway Company to defray half of the cost of construction of the part on the east side of the Liao River, which is about 26 miles in extent. The conditions of the loan are generally similar to those of the Chinese Northern Railway Agreements, and the loan is to be for eighteen years, during which time the Chief Engineer is to be Japanese.
The point is being raised by the local agent of the British and Chinese Corporation as to whether section 2 of clause 3 of the Northern Railway Loan Agreement of the 10th October, 1898, and Article 5 of the Agreement (B) of the 29th April, 1902, are not contravened by the foregoing provisions.
This contention could possibly be supported by a strict interpretation of the wording of those Agreements, but the question is not one of great practical importance, and it would not, I think, be politic to raise it. Mr. Bland's idea is that there should be a clear understanding that the Liao River, which is distant about 8 miles from Hsin-Min-Tun, is the boundary of the Chinese Railway Administration, and that the section to the east of that river alone is under Japanese control. I could, if you so desire, approach the Japanese Minister in this sense, but you would possibly prefer to wait for the arrival of my despatches on the subject.
[2449 co-1]