492
$2
I asked the President if it was true that the Company had decided to build a branch line to Sanui, and, if so, if this was not contrary to the Interprovincial Construction Rules promulgated by the Government.
Sir Chentung replied that a Resolution in favour of constructing the line referred to had been passed unanimously at the recent meeting of shareholders, that the Board of Communications had been petitioned on the subject, and that he personally thought permission would be given in view of the fact that the Company were making good progress with the main line, and that the construction of this small branch would not interfere with or retard in any way the completion of the main undertaking.
The proposed route of the new line is from Fatshan viâ Shekwan, Chanchun, Tailiung, and Kongmun to Sanui, roughly about 50 miles due south of Fatshan and a few miles west of Macao.
The line presents no serious difficulties of construction, and will run through an exceptionally rich and prosperous country.
Asked if such a line would not clash with the proposed Macao-Canton Railway, for which I understood the Portuguese held a Concession, the President said it undoubtedly would, but, as far as he knew, the Portuguese Concession had never been granted, and, he added, was never likely to be. The line would virtually be an extension of the Canton-Samshui Railway, over which the Company hoped eventually to obtain sole control by buying out the interests of Hunan and Hupeh.
Sir Chentung informed me that he was not at all satisfied with the way the Company's accounts were being kept, and said he was seriously thinking of engaging a foreign auditor, who would exercise a general supervision over the Railway's expenditure and income.
I suggested that a chartered accountant, similar to the one employed by the Canton-Kowloon Railway Administration, would probably meet his requirements, and at the President's request I promised to make inquiries for a suitable man.
Sir Chantung informed me that his period of mourning would expire in February next, when, at the express request of Her Majesty the Empress Dowager, he would resign his position in the Railway Company and re-enter official life.
I have, &c.
(Signed) H. H. FOX.
This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Governme...
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[29334]
33035
Rec'd [Received] August 24 1908
SECTION 4.
No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received August 24.)
(No. 305.) Sir,
Peking, July 7, 1908. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch No. 226 of the 12th May last, in which you forwarded to me copy of notes prepared by Admiral Craigie on a proposal to appoint an English Naval Adviser to the Chinese Government, and instructed me, if an opportunity occurred and I considered it useful to do so, to ascertain whether the views of the Chinese Government had undergone any change since July 1907, when the question of such an appointment was still in abeyance owing to the Chinese naval programme being unsettled.
In reply, I have the honour to submit a brief statement of the developments which have taken place recently in the question of naval reorganization.*
Towards the end of last year it became known that China was contemplating a programme of naval construction, and several agents of prominent British shipbuilding firms at once made their appearance here. The Fairfield Shipbuilding Company, Beardmore and Co., the Thames Iron Works Company, and Vickers, Maxim, and Co. all sent representatives to Peking, who have remained here ever since. There is reason to believe that these firms have not confined themselves merely to offering to build ships for China, but have, in several instances, volunteered to provide her with an efficient personnel for superintending measures of naval reorganization generally.
The Chinese are greatly embarrassed by the number and variety of the offers made to them, but their indecision is due less to their perplexity on this head than to two other causes. In the first place, they are not agreed between themselves as to the extent of their naval requirements, Yuan Shih-k'ai, it is stated, holds that China should have a navy befitting her position as a Great Power, while his rival, T'ich Liang, is credited with favouring a more modest programme.
The second and more serious difficulty is the question of funds, and the present indecision is likely to continue until this is settled. The financial aspect of the question has not been neglected by the various agents here, who have drawn up elaborate schemes, none of which have, however, met with the approval of the Chinese Government.
My action in the matter was until recently confined to keeping careful watch of the various developments and to giving such support and assistance as I could to the British competitors. In view, however, of reports which reached me as to the pressure that was alleged to be exercised from other quarters, I thought it advisable to speak to the Wai-wu Pu on the subject. This I did at an interview on the 26th May, and the language which I held to the Ministers was reported to you in my telegram No. 112 of the same day. I expressed a hope that British applications for naval contracts would be accorded favourable consideration, and reminded the Ministers that we had a right to expect this, considering the position we held as the greatest naval Power, and the intimate associations we had in the past and the present with the Chinese navy.
The claim was fully recognized, and I was given to understand that we should be consulted before any final decision was taken. Liang Ta-jên confessed that they were greatly puzzled by the multiplicity of the projects which had been laid before them, and asked me what I thought they ought to do.
I said that if I were in their position I would place myself unreservedly in the hands of some great naval authority in whom I could place complete reliance. Asked where such an expert was to be found, I said that Admiral Moore would be my ideal of what they required. He would probably not be available himself, but his advice might, and it would be invaluable.
Sir Walter Hillier has since told me that the Ministers had spoken to him in somewhat the same sense, and had given him the distinct impression that they would come to us for advice and assistance.
I think, therefore, it might savour of importunity if I were to press the Chinese Government for any more definite promise at present, especially as the Chinese ...
* Not printed.
[1905 aa-4]