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51
foreign control of Chinese lines, and would conse- quently be very slow to give assent to a proposal which, as Sir F.Lugard says, would give Hong Kong an additional claim in respect of the management of the whole line; the Government of Hong Kong is hardly in a sufficiently strong financial position to lend this sum. The receipts from the Wuchang loan are being used to finance the building of the British section
of the Railway, so that they are not available. The
Colony has had to ask for financial assistance from
His Majesty's Government, in consequence of the Opium
policy and I think it would create a most unfavourable
impression on the Treasury mind to find the Government
proposing to lend money to China. The Wichang Loan
was an experiment which up to now has been success- ful: I doubt the advisability of attempting to
repeat it at a time when China for the Chinese is
becoming more and more the cry. In any case the
offer would probably only lead to a snub from the
Chinese Government who would be sure to refuse it.
I would telegraph.
·
? Draft approved generally, and confirm by despatch raising this point, write as above with regard to the $40,000,explain as to the preliminary agreement papers (referring Officer Administering the Government to Eastern 88) and say we are consulting
Foreign Office as to the assistence of His Britannic
Majesty's Minister.
?
Copy all three despatches to Foreign Office
writing