2
Communications or the Directors-General of the Tien-tsin-Pukou Railway to take this matter up in consultation with myself.
I have, &c.
S. F. MAYERS.
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
Your Highness,
Enclosure 2 in No. 1.
Mr. Max Müller to Prince Ching.
November 17, 1910, ON the 9th July, 1908, Sir John Jordan had the honour, in reply to a note from your Highness on the subject of the proposal of the Chinese Central Railways (Limited) to negotiate a final agreement for the construction of the Pukou-Sinyang Railway, to request that your Highness's Board should bear in mind that the preliminary agreement for this line was the result of a definite understanding between the British and Chinese Governments, which cannot be set aside without mutual agreement. Sir John Jordan accordingly requested that your Highness's Board would appoint a representative to discuss with the representative of the Chinese Central Railways (Limited) the question of this railway.
To this note no reply was returned, but on the 11th August, during an interview at your Highness's Board, Sir John Jordan was informed that nothing could be done in this matter until the Tien-tsin-Pukou Railway was finished.
Now, however, that the supplementary loan for the Tien-tsin-Pukou Railway has been concluded, while the work of constructing the southern section is in an advanced state, and the line from Pukou to Linhaikuan is almost ready for traffic, the time appears to have arrived for the reconsideration of this question.
I have, therefore, the honour to invite your Highness's Board to induce either the Board of Posts and Communications or the Directors-General of the Tien-tsin-Pukou Railway to enter into negotiations for a final agreement for the Pukou-Sinyang Railway with Mr. S. F. Mayers, the representative of the Chinese Central Railways (Limited).
Awaiting the favour of a reply, I avail, &c.
W. G. MAX MÜLLER.
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[44487]
621
No. 1. JAN ||
[December 8.]
SECTION 1. 145
Mr. Mar Müller to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received December 8.)
(No. 419.) Sir,
Peking, November 17, 1910. IN my despatch No. 365 of the 17th ultimo on the subject of the Shanghai- Ningpo Railway. I reported that the Grand Secretary Na Tung had promised to discuss the question with the new President of the Board of Communications, Tang Shao-yi, on his arrival in Peking, and that Mr. Mayers agreed with me that we should wait and see whether Tang Shao yi was willing or able to assist us.
Mr. Mayers reported to me about a fortnight ago that he had had an interview with his Excellency, and had discussed with him the prospects of recovering control of the Shanghai-Ningpo Railway, but that the new President appeared to be very despondent, had said that conditions were now so altered in China that the time was passed for settling such questions by the issue of an Imperial edict in the manner suggested by me, and had ended by again bringing up the proposal, mooted in the early part of this year, but subsequently allowed to lapse into oblivion, for transferring the loan funds to the construction on similar terms of the Kaifeng-Hsuchow line (see Sir John Jordan's despatch No. 19 of the 12th January, and subsequent correspondence). Though this proposal is not at present officially under discussion, I understand from Mr. Mayers that he has been in communication with his directors as to the possibility of entertaining such a solution. I have already placed on record my objections to accepting this scheme, except at the very last resort.
It is evident, however, that Tang Shao-yi is fully alive to the immense importance of the Kaifeng-Haichow line, which is destined eventually to form a portion of the great trunk line from the port of Haichow to Sianfu and Lanchow, and even beyond, as Lord ffrench informs me that Tang Shao-yi had talked to him about the necessity of building this line, and bad enquired whether his firm would be willing to tender for the construction of the harbour at Haichow, hinting at the same time that there was a possibility of the whole railway line from there to Kaifeng being built by contract. I realise that all this information is very vague, but I have thought it worth while to report it to you in view of the probable future importance of the line in question, and the likelihood of the scheme meeting with opposition from the Germans, who would look on flaichow as a possible rival to Tsingtau, and would prefer to see the line from Kaifeng diverted at Hsuchow in a northerly direction through Iehow to the port of Tsingtan.
As Tang Shao-yi had intimated that he would like to talk to me about the Shanghai-Ningpo Railway question and other matters, I had intended to call on him last Monday for that purpose, when I learnt that two days previously he had had the misfortune to lose his wife, and had applied for leave and gone to Tien-tsin.
At an interview, however, that I had with the Presidents of the Wai-wu Pu on the 14th instant I brought up the question of the Shanghai-Ningpo Railway, and I reminded the Grand Secretary Na Tung that he had promised me six weeks previously to take an early opportunity of discussing it with Tang Shao-yi, but from what I heard from Mr. Mayers of his conversations with the new President, we appeared to be no nearer a solution than we had been at the beginning of the year. I mentioned a report that had reached my ears that representatives of the Kiangsu Railway Company were actually in Peking trying to arrange with the Board of Communications for the repurchase of their section of the railway, but that the difficulty was that, while they were asking an exorbitant amount, Liang Shih-yi would only offer 70 per cent. of the actual expenditure incurred by them, not of their share capital.
His Excellency Na Tung admitted that the representatives of the Kiangsu Railway Company were in Peking, and that negotiations were proceeding for the repurchase of that section of the line. He said that the commercial deal might take some time, but he felt that the bargaining as to the price should be left entirely to the Board of Communications.
As far as I could ascertain he had not in any way pressed the matter on Tang
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