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December 24th 1908.
"emorandum of Interfiew with F.F.Chang Chih-tung re Loan for the Hunkow-Canton Railway.
JAN 20 1909)
700
is Excellency was assisted by two deputies viz. Ling Wel (a native of Chihli) representing the interests of
The interview lasted Hupei, and Tseng Kuang Yung, of Hunan. several hours. Its resulte may be briefly sumrised as
follows:
}
F.E.Chang proposes to raise a loan of £3,000,000 to Te devoted to the construction of the Tupci and Hunan sections
of the Railway, and to be supplemented, if necessary.
by a
further loan hereafter. The total length of these sections
is estimated at 400 miles. Te stated that he applies in
the first instance to the Corporation, in view of his arree-
ment with H.".Coneul General at Hankow, but emphasised the fact that by this agreement, the British are only entitled to a first option and that he is at liberty to invite
competition wherever available. If the Corporation's terms
were unfavourable he had no doubt that other British
dicates, not to mention German, Belgian and Japanese capital- ists, would be glad to negotiate the loan. Te deprecated from the outset any suggestion of financial supervision or acministrative control on behalf of the bondholders, referring
frequently to the Yuchuanpu's recent Peking-ankos redemption loan as proof of the complete confidence of for in investors. Te desiredto make a loan on similar terms, giving as collat- eral security the lokin revenues of upei, neither the railway nor ite earnings being pledged for the service of the loon. As regards the negotiations, the preliminaries would be discussed by the provinci 1 deputies and the final conditions by himself. Te understood that the Corporation was a cociated
with Trench capitalists, but as these, negotiations were the outcome of his agreement with "r. Fraser, he could take no
cognisance of any party other than the Corporation.
hoped