62
operate in British territory, except with express sanction from the Government of Hong Kong, especially as the Eastern Extension Company were not allowed by China to own lines in China. He accordingly proposed to bring in an Ordinance to make it illegal for Telegraph Lines to be constructed or worked without licence from the Government and to issue a licence to the Administra- tion in which the ownership of the line was definitely recognised as vested in the Colonial Government. Sir
M. Nathan thought this would be better than to allow the Eastern Extension Company to take over the line in British territory since in that case there would be a break at the frontier.
4. Sir . Nathan also pointed out what is the crux of the whole position, namely, that the Tastern Extension Company was considerably affected. The Company works linas (owned by the Chinese Government) running from Woo Sung and Sharp Peak respectively to Shanghai and Foochow, 'a concession which is probably made in consideration of the accommodation given to the Chinese Administration by the Eastern Extension Company in its offices at Hong Kong and over the line from Hong Kong to Shamshuipo. Any disturbance of the existing arrange- ments in Hong Kong might therefore react upon the arrange- ments at the Places referred to."
X
5. The Canton-Kowloon railway negotiations were then proceeding and the Secretary of State suggested to
ina tiligram dalls the af for (gove the Governor that this question might wait till the railway question was settled since friction over this question of telegraphs might prejudice the negotiations with regard to the railway. Sir M. Nathan agreed by
(1390). W1.20.024--26. 6000. 11/08. A.&E.W. (15,629),
18,912--27. 0000. 10/09.
+
telegraph
X
X
xx
Shamshuico is
9874/04.
78/08
the telegraph 0./39879/09. station inside
the new front.0./322B/09. the section in dispute runs fr Shamshuipo to Kowloon.
Cypher teleṛrag of 21 Nove her 1904 on 39376/18
1
XX. This is maceu
The line fr. IK KS. the calle. The sub
in
pr.S..
ne dispute is the frontier 1 Shain Chun-JK
telagraph on the 22nd of November 1904.
6. The question then slept till 1908 when Sir F.
Lugard revived it in his Confidential despatch of the
3rd of September. He reported that the Chinese Government were about to buy up the privately held shares in the Telegraph with a view to incorporating the administration
in the Imperial Government Telegraphs. He urged the undesirability of a purely Government telegraph line
of a foreign nation traversing British territory, with
a Chinese official stationed in Hong Kong to supervise
and control it. "Even under the former conditions this
Government has on more than one occasion had cause to
take notice of the tendency on the part of the person in charpe to interfere in matters outside his duties as
Telegraph Supervisor." Sir F. Lugard asked that
diplomatic action should be taken with a view to removing the terminal office to the frontier, when he would be glad to discuss any arrangement with the Chinese Government for working the section, either by Hong Kong
or the Eastern Extension Company or otherwise. The Foreign Office were accordingly asked for observations on
21st October 1908.
4
7. The Foreign Office telegraphed on 24th October to the minister for his views, and on the 27th of January 1909 sent a copy of Sir John Jordan's despatch in which
Foreign Office expressed concurrence. Sir J. Jordan
reported that he had seen the Foreign Adviser to the
Chinese Telegraph Administration, who, while appreciating
the objections to the existing state of affairs, strongly
deprecated disturbing the arrangement by which the
Chinese