433
4
present and future (financial you could
from that gentle.
namely, a full statement covering dates of payment, position, mode of repayment of loan, &c., and if man a statement in that sense and forward it to me.
Inclosure 4 in No. 1,
Mr. Hunter to Mr. Hillier.
procure
I have, &c.
J. N. JORDAN.
5
With a profitable loan in sight, German commercial interests would endeavour to get over German political schemes.
A loan of this kind could be issued privately in small lots to suit the work, giving
a better price to the Chinese and more profit to those issuing it.
Will you consider the matter and talk it over with Sir John Jordan ? It is really very important, and no time should be lost.
Yours very truly,
H. HUNTER.
My dear Hillier,
Hong Kong and Shanghae Bank,
Shanghae, July 12, 1909.
WHANGPOO Conservancy. The other day I attended the opening of the junk channel. De Rijke evidently understands his work, and with the exception of the Germans the whole mercantile community are satisfied that it is the right thing, and as you no doubt know De Rijke himself welcomes the proposal of the Chamber of Commerce (ruade to endeavour to satisfy all, even the Germans), that an outside expert from Europe should come and report upon the scheme.
Landale tells me that there is no difficulty about getting an English engineer to report, as De Bijke is recognised as the first expert in this kind of work. We should therefore have great confidence in De Rijke.
If the work is to be finally a great success it is very important now that it should not be stopped by the influence of German adverse criticism or want of money.
As you probably know, the following happened :—
When tenders were called for the German tender was very much the lowest; it is generally thought that they could only tender at such figures with some extraordinary strength behind them, say the German Government, with a view to obtaining a hold on the port of Shanghae, and, knowing their ambitions, this is not an extravagant opinion to hold, but one deserving of a great deal of consideration by the English, considering the great importance of our trade.
The German Government engineer, Captain Schelhoss, held a minor appointment on the Kiel Canal, and his opinions should not be allowed to carry weight against those of a known expert like De Rijke, from a country famed for its water engineers.
The work having been entrusted to De Rijke, German opposition to a scheme they were willing enough to approve of if given to them to do, at once started. It was all wrong, and meant the closing of the river instead of improving it to steamer traffic, and finally they were loud in their denunciations in touching the ship channel until the junk channel had been made deep enough. Now that the junk channel is deep enough, they are using all the influence they possess to still stop the junk channel being a confirmed success by the necessary filling in and silting up of the ship channel until money is set aside for the completion of the whole work.
De Rijke estimates that 8,000,000 dollars, or 6,000,000 taels, will be required for this, spread over a term of years (I don't think De Rijke has fixed an exact time). It seems probable that the Chinese (and the Germans know it) would not require much encouragement to stint the supply of funds, and so very probably undo every thing that has been done, or chuck De Rijke and take up a cheaper offer by the Germans, who would then go on with the work and take up a very strong position here politically, and no doubt do their best to upset big British wharf and engineering interests, and suit the scheme to the special improvement of German frontages, whereas De Rijke's scheme is good for everybody.
It is to be devoutly hoped that Sir John Jordan will resolutely support the carrying out of the Dutch work,
Money, no doubt, must be found. Why not a loan ?
There is the revenue from tonnage dues, which is supposed to be used for lighting the coast and similar work. It is therefore very suitable it should be used for conservancy work. Nobody, I believe, knows what these tonnage dues amount to, but they must be very considerable. It is also not known how much of them is used for the special work assigned to them, but it is reasonable to suppose, knowing Chinese methods, that there is a big leakage, or a surplus used otherwise.
If the tonnage dues could be shown to be good security for a loan, and the Germans had a share in it, their opposition would probably disappear, and their support be gained.