[This Document is the Froperty of His Britannic Majesty's Government.i
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
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No. 1.
C
10672
3 PP
[March 6.]
SECTION 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received March 6.)
(No. 70.) Sir,
Peking, February 16, 1911. WITH reference to my despatch No. 20 of the 14th ultimo, I have the honour to transmit herewith copy of a despatch from His Majesty's consul at Nanking regarding the somewhat premature opening to traffic of the Pukow-Lin Huai Kwan section of the Tien-tsin-Pukow Railway, together with the newspaper article therein referred to,* which gives some interesting details concerning the southern section of the line.
I have, &c.
J. N. JORDAN,
(No. 4.) Sir,
Enclosure in No. 1.
Consul Wilkinson to Sir J. Jordan,
Nanking, January 30, 1911. IN the " North China Daily News" of the 25th ultimo, you will find an account of the opening to traffic five days previously of the section of the Tien-tsin-Pukow Railway between Pukow and Lin Huai Kwan, a distance of 94 miles.
The opening was not a formal one, as the section is by no means complete. It has merely been found possible to attach some three or four passenger cars to the construction trains leaving Pukow and Lin Huai Kwan every morning.
The information regarding the line given by the newspaper is, it may be assumed, quite correct, as Mr. Tuckey, to whom I applied at the time for particulars of the opening, referred me in his rather belated reply to the article in question, and I may add that it is generally believed that he himself is the author of it.
Up to the present no station buildings have been erected at the spot on the river side from which the trains start, so that passengers are without shelter or conveniences of any kind. The traffic, however, is very small, the takings averaging only a few dollars each day.
The commencement of traffic on the line has, of course, brought into prominence the question of the opening of Pukow as a treaty port. Since my arrival I have spoken to several of the local officials on the subject, but one and all have professed ignorance of what is being done in the matter, and show a strong disinclination to discuss it. I propose, therefore, to raise the question on the occasion of my next interview with the Viceroy. As far as I can learn, the business of laying out a settlement along the river bank has been left in the hands of a committec of Pukow gentry, styling themselves the Shih Chang Chi, who up to date appear to have I am informed, however, that they done nothing but quarrel amongst themselves. are negotiating with a prominent Shanghai firm of British architects to carry out the work for them, but in such a way as to create an impression that it is being Where the necessary funds are done by the committee without foreign assistance. to come from no one seems to know, and it is no doubt the difficulty of raising them that is causing the delay, for, owing to the amount of filling-in required, the In the meanwhile, I am trying to persuade undertaking will be a very costly one. the Customs Taotai to select a site for a customs-house, as, once this is decided on, it may be possible for British firms to make private arrangements for the acquisition of suitable sites for themselves.
I have, &c.
F. E. WILKINSON.
* Not printed.
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