63
Chinese had always had an office in Hong Kong because this would, in his opinion, raise the question of the Eastern Extension Company's rights at Woosung and Sharp Peak and would react unfavourably upon the interests of the British Company generally in China. The Vaimupu on being informally approached fell back on their former view (see paragraph 2) and asked why Hong Kong should want to make difficulties. Sir J. Jordon recomended as the simplest solution that the terminal office should be removed to the frontier and that the Eastern Extension Company should acquire and work the line from the old to the new frontier. But he said that any attempt to turn the Chinese out of their Hong Kong office would raise a very wide question. He annexed correspond- ence on the subject in 1884.
8. This correspondence consists of two letters from Mr. Tunn, then Special Agent of the Tastern Extension Company, addressed to the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration. In one he gives the terms of the agr38- ment, which were briefly as follows:-
Two Chinese wires were to be connected at the British boundary of Kowloon to wires of the Eastern Extension Company running to Hong Kong. The Administration was to have its office in Hong Kong in the same building as the Eastern Extension Company paying rent for it. The Tastern Extension Company was to maintain, at its own expense, the lines from the Chinese Office in Hong Kong to Yowloon. The agreement was for 20 years from the 7th of May 1883, and was approved by her majesty's Government. In the second letter kr. Dunn says that "the lines are specially for your Company's use, sune as the Woosung-Shanghai lines
0./3228/09)
19816/09.
f. despatch of 9th June 1909.
provided by your Company for my Company's use"
9. The Governor was asked in a Confidential descatol
of the 5th February 1909 for his views on Sir J. Jordan's recommandations, and replied in a despatch dated the 12th of May. Anong other information he stated that the acrsement referred to in the preceding paragraph has been formally extended to 1930 without reference to or the knowledge of the Hong Kong Government. He pointed
out that the Colony had thus lost a valuable source of ravenue since a royalty might have been imposed on telegrams or a leass of the privilege might have been sold. He added that he had received an enquiry from the
Chief Engineer on the Chinese section of the Canton
Kowloon Railway asking permission to run private wires along the line to Hong Kong, to belong to and he operated
by the Chinese Government, This request he had refused, saying that he would gladly make arrangements for the wires to be led into offices under the Hong Kong Government's control. The proposal would appear to have been made owing to the Chinese Government finding it
difficult to expropriate the shareholders in the
Telegraph Administration - they had therefore conceived
this scheme to cut the shareholders out.
10. Sir F. Lugard went on to say that for policy
and profic Hong Kong should control the line to the frontier,
that the railway line offered the best course, the old telegraph being very circuitous, but that he
pro osed to let matters alone till he could discuss the
question of substituting the railway telegraph. His proposal to drop the matter temporarily was accepted.
11. During
(1390), W1.20,024-26, 6000. 11/98. A.&E.W. (15,613).
18,912-27. 6000 10/09.
*
provided