12
Imperial Edict, or such other quarantee as you may consider necessary to rendor it absolutely binding on the Chinese Govern-
-ment. I have myself signed the six Agreements herein in anticipation.
5.
I desire to draw your attention to one or two special matters in connection with this Working Agreement, and to ank your kind assistance and co-operation in regard to them.
Clause 1 which embodies the Loan Agreement
6.
between the Chinese Government and the British and Chinese Cor-
-poration and incorporates it as an integral part of this Agres-
-ment has been inserted at my personal instance and I consider
it of special importance since it secures that a British
Engineer-in-Chief and a British Chief Accountant shall be main-
-tained on the Chinese Section. This pledge thereby becomes one
between the two Governments irrespective of the Loan Agreement made between China and a Financial Corporation which may be of a
temporary nature. Ir. Cheo at first demurred to its inclusion,
but looking to the fact that His Excellency Liang Thi Yi in his conversations with me in Peking based his opposition to my pro- -posals largely on the fact that they were (as he alleged) in-
-compatible with the Loan Agreement, I trust that you will have
no difficulty in respect of this clause which has been agreed
to by the Chinese Negotiator after reference to his Government.
In fact Mr. Chao received on the 9th. instant a telegram from the
Director-General of Railways stating that "the Board agrees to append the Loan Agreement to the present Agreement, although it
#eem unnecessary to do so*.
Clause 37-A (now 38) is as I have said
reserved, since ar. Chao stated that it was beyond his competence
to agree to it. Your Excellency will see at once how very
advantageous it would be to obtain the consent of the Chinese to
its insertion. I have so drafted it as to avoid the appearance
of any unrequited concession on their part an as merely the natural corollary of the present Agreement. His drcollency
Liang