[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.]
From CHINA.
Decode.
Sir M. Lampson. (Peking),
May 6th, 1927.
D.
8.20.p.m. May 6th, 1927,
R.
9.30.p.m. May 6th, 1927.
No. 830.
(R).
114
·000-
My despatch No. 177.
Chairman of Tientsin Municipal Council has now
approached me informally with a suggestion that a sum
of 500,000 taels from Boxer Indemnity Fund should be
invested in a new municipal loen for the purpose of
providing minimum amount of funds required for current
year's maintenance and commitments already entered into.
Funds would be expended on payment of machinery
for power station completion of artesian well scheme,
road construction and extension of electric and water
distribution scheme which will chiefly benefit Chinese residents in municipal areas.
Proposal is that British municipal council should
make new issue of municipal debentures to amount of taels 500,000 to be issued at par and bearing interest at 7% redeemable in ten equal yearly instalments be- tween the years 1950 and 1960. Payments would be made
in five monthly instalments of taels 100,000 out of Indemnity Fund. These payments would continue even if
British Municipal Council were to hand over control of the concession to successor. Suggested that Board of
Trusts would be responsible for service of new issue in addition to their responsibility for outstanding municipal loans. If financial scheme put forward is adopted outstanding municipal debentures will have been
paid.
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