2.
44
I beg, moreover, to remind Your Excellency that
this incursion by the Military forces upon the land and
property of the Railway, and the works being carried out
by them, are in direct contravention of the terms of the
Loan Agreement of March 1907, under which, by Article 3
the Loan is secured by mortgage on the Railway property
and lands, and, by Article 7, the Chinese Government un-
dertakes that, until the bonds have been redeemed, no part
of the land or the Railway with its appurtenances shall be
transferred or given to another party, or shall be injured.
As Your Excellency is aware, the payment of the service of the Canton Kowloon Railway Loan is eeply in arrears, and the welfare of the line is principally Mepen- dent upon the punctual and safe running of the express
train service between Canton and Kowloon, which woul4 ob-
viously be very detrimentally affected by the carrying out
of the reported plan of the Military Engineering Corps. I
beg therefore to request that Your Excellency will cause
immediate measures to be taken in restraint of the work be-
ing carried out by the Military Department and for the 18-
sue of orders to vacate the property of the Railway.
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your beient Servant,
(86) B.T.B. BOOTHBY.