Hankow-Canton Railway: Hupei-Hunan Section.
Memorandum re Negotiations for Loan.
21172
JUN 20 1903
In May 1907 I went to Hankow and saw H.E. Chang Chih Tung in regard to the loan which he wished to raise for the construction of railways (1) from Wuchang to Changsha, (2) from Wuchang to Ichang. The result of these negotiations (hampered by Japanese intrigues) and of those subsequently conducted by Mr. Hillier, (when German participation was eventually suggested by the Viceroy) was practically identical, viz, after obtaining all available information as to terms, H.E. Chang requested me to return to Peking and obtain the authority of the Yu Chuan Pu for the proposed loans; in Mr. Hillier's case it was the Board of Finance that was to be consulted, but on neither occasion was there shown any evidence of a sincere desire to negotiate the proposed loans on reasonable terms.
During the negotiations for the Tientsin Pukow Railway, H.E. Liang Tun Yen, on behalf of H.E. Chang, suggested to Dr. Cordes and myself that a loan of two or three million sterling should be arranged simultaneously with the Tientsin Pukow railway contract, but was informed that this was impracticable.
After the conclusion of the Tientsin Pukow Railway agreement, H.E. Liang informed me (on the 13th February) that H.E. Chang was anxious to negotiate a loan for the Northern section of the Hankow Canton line. I informed him on that occasion, and at a subsequent interview on 28th Feb, that the Corporation was prepared to conclude an agreement on terms generally similar to those of the Tientsin Pukow Railway agreement, but at the same time I recommended that a construction contract should be arranged, whereby the rapid construction of the line would be guaranteed and the flotation...