as Traffic Superintendent and Adviser regarding a Joint
89
Working Agreement. I enquired therefore by telegram whether
Mr. Lindsey had been nominated by the Indian Government
C
(with whom Your Lordship's Department was aware that I was
negotiating) and on receipt of a reply that he had not been
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so nominated, I telegraphed on the 21st. ultimo my con-
-currence subject to the concurrence of the Indian Board,
to whom I had very fully explained the qualifications
required, period of service, proposed salary and more
especially the nature of the problem to be solved in
negotiating a Working Agreement with the Chinese. I referr-
-ed Your Lordship at the same time to this correspondence,
a copy of which had been transmitted to your Department
under cover of my Despatch of the 8th. of last May. My
object was of course to avoid offence to the Indian Rail-
-way Board by suddenly appointing a man, without reference
to them, while they were engaged in selecting a man at my
request
20
or in the alternative to avoid the possible
contingency of finding two men appointed to the same post
one by the Indian Railway Board and another by the Consult-
-ing Engineers - and at the same time to draw attention to
the nature of the negotiations regarding Working Agreement
contained in my Memorandum to the Indian Railway Board.
3.