4
Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Mr. Grove to Mr. May.
This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
4136 [January 14.]
301
SECIN 14 FED 09
Engineer-in-chief's Office, Canton, Dear Sir,
September 1, 1908. I HAVE recently opened negotiations with Deputy Soo Ching Hung Fo, Manager of the Telegraph Department of Wai Chow, with regard to the construction of a telegraph line parallel to our railway line between Canton and Sam Chun.
Our proposal is to construct a first-class line: three wires to be at the disposal of our railway and six for the Chinese Telegraph Department, railway telegraph offices! being under our control on terms of Agreement similar to those in force on the Shanghae-Nanking Railway.
As you will anticipate, the idea of the Chinese Department is to supplant existing wires between Canton, Sheklung, Sam Chun, Kowloon, and Hong Kong.
My reason for putting this before you is that Mr. Soo has asked me to inquire if your Government will meet us by allowing the Chinese Telegraph Department wires | (six or less) to proceed to Kowloon on your railway posts, and thence to the Hong Kong telegraph office by cable.
I understand that the Chinese telegraph communication already passes over British- leased territory and passes by cable to Hong Kong, and their idea is, I understand, to now provide for communication in the matter indicated. I may point out that the proposal is favourable to the railway from our point of view, and would facilitate construction of the telegraph line.
2. I would further mention that it would probably be necessary for the railway wires to be joined up at our junction, so that Canton could communicate with Kowloon with reference to traffic and other matters.
I have, &c. (Signed)
FRANK GROVE,
Engineer-in-chief.
[193]
No. 1.
Memorandum communicated to Mr. Whitelaw Reid, January 14, 1909.
IN the Memorandum communicated by the American Ambassador to Sir C. Hardinge on the 1st instant, his Excellency stated that the Government at Washington were led to believe that the Japanese Government intended to construct a fixed bridge over the River Yalu at New Wijn (Autung). In view of the detriment which such an obstruction would cause to commerce on the Yalu, the American Ambassador at Tokio had been instructed to call the attention of the Japanese Government to the advisability of erecting a bridge of a type which would not impede navigation, and the American Government would be gratified to learn that His Majesty's Ambassador at Tokio and His Majesty's Minister at Peking had been instructed in a similar sense.
The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs has the honour to inform the American Ambassador in reply that, as soon as it was reported that the Japanese authorities intended to build a bridge of a fixed type over the Yalu at this point, His Majesty's Ambassador at Tokio made representations to the Japanese Government of a nature similar to those made by his American colleague. The Secretary of State has good reason to believe that the Japanese Government have now recognized the justice of these representations, and that some type of drawbridge will be substituted for the fixed bridge it was originally intended to erect.
Under these circumstances it would not appear necessary that any further representations should be made at Tôkiô.
Foreign Office, January 14, 1909.
[2116 o~1]
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Mr. May to Mr. Grove.
Sir,
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hong Kong, Septemebr 29, 1908.
IN reply to your letter of the 1st instant, I am directed to state that this Govern- ment is not prepared to allow the six wires of the Chinese Telegraph Department to proceed to Kowloon on British railway posts and thence to the Hong Kong telegraph office by cable, since it would introduce the principle of a foreign Government owning and working a telegraph line in British territory, but that his Excellency the Governor will be glad to make arrangements for connecting the six wires at the frontier with wires belonging to this Government to be led into offices under the control of the Hong Kong Government.
I have, &c. (Signed)
F. H. MAY, Colonial Secretary,
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