PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
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Reference :-
C.O. 882
6 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH——NOT TO
392
and the Governor of Hunan, I have the honour humbly to submit our joint report for Your Majesty's consideration.
EXTRACT from "UNIVERSAL GAZETTE" of March 15, 1906.
(Translation.)
Report of the special meeting of Kuangtung gentry and merchants on railway matters held at the Ai Yu Charity Association on 4th March, 1906.
4th subject. On the 1st March Viceroy Ts'en wrote to the General Chamber of Commerce that the main line section from Huang Sha to Kao T'ang was at the moment unfinished and needed about 60,000 dollars to enable cars to run, and he had engaged a Japanese engineer for six months at 360 dollars a month for salary and subsistence; the authorities proposed to find the funds and start building, the work to be taken over when the trade shares should have been collected and the official advance repaid out of them.
"It was submitted to the meeting whether from the trade instalments paid 60,000 dollars.should be provided and a request made to take over the building.
"The meeting decided to defer the subject to a future date."
20891
No. 258.
FOREIGN OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received June 11, 1906.)
The Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his compliments to the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, and, by direction of the Secretary of State, transmits herewith copy of the undermentioned paper.
Foreign Office,
June 11, 1906.
DESCRIPTION OF ENCLOSURE.
Name and Date,
Subject.
Canton-Kowloon Railway.
Sir E. Satow, No. 170, April 10, 1906
(No. 170.)
SIR,
Enclosure in No. 258.
Peking, April 10, 1906.
IN continuation of my despatch, No. 93, of March 3rd, I have the honour to enclose copies of further correspondence on the subject of the Canton-Kowloon Railway.
Canton, Yo. 17, March 17, 1906. Canton, No. 21, March 22, 1906.
A telegram from His Majesty's Consul- General, received on March 9th, having informed me that the Viceroy of Canton had taken no steps on the explicit telegram sent to him on February 23rd. I again urged the matter on the attention of the Wai Wu Pu in a personal interview on that day, and was promised that another telegram would be sent to His Excellency.
Next day, March 10th, I received a telegram from Sir Matthew Nathan stating that as the Wai Wu Pu's telegram of February 23rd had had no result, and that as the Viceroy had been telegraphing to the Chinese Minister in London to procure the abrogation of the preliminary agreement on the ground that it was a private arrangement with Sheng Hsüan-huai, he proposed to telegraph to the Secretary of State for the Colonies urging the adoption of stronger measures. On the same day
• Enclosure 4 in No. 241.
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(March 10th) I informed His Majesty's Consul-General of the Wai Wu Pu's promise to again press the Viceroy, and instructed him to address His Excellency a note asking for an immediate resumption of negotiations. I further said that the Viceroy might be told that if the Wai Wu Pu's request was not complied with I should consider the advisability of recommending His Majesty's Government to instruct His Majesty's Consul-General to break off relations with him.
I informed Sir Matthew Nathan by telegraph of my instructions to Mr. Scott and said that if they did not advance matters I would concur in his proposed telegram to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.
By a telegram of March 17th from Mr. Scott I learnt that the Viceroy's rejoinder was that he had telegraphed to the Wai Wu Pu on March 3rd, suggesting that the following alternative proposals should be submitted to me :-
1. China to borrow money from the British and Chinese Corporation and employ British engineers, but that she should undertake the construc- tion herself; the railway to be security for the loan, and any failure to repay capital or interest to give the Corporation control of the accounts;
2. The Province of Kuangtung to raise money and build the line, purchasing through the Corporation such material as China was unable to supply. This reply ignored the existence of the Preliminary Agreement, and the request contained in the Wai Wu Pu's telegram of February 23rd, and merely attempted to transfer the negotiations to Peking. The Wai Wu Pu did not see fit to mention it to me. Sir Matthew Nathan, as soon as he was told of it by Mr. Scott, tele- graphed (March 18th) to the Secretary of State for the Colonies in the sense proposed by him on March 10th. His Excellency's telegram informing me of this was closely followed by another telegram from Mr. Scott according to which the Viceroy had written on March 19th to say that he had received an Imperial Decree instructing him to appoint delegates and negotiate with the representative of the British and Chinese Corporation.
In my telegram to you, No. 53, of March 20th, I had the honour to summarise briefly the action taken in this matter as mentioned above, and I added a sentence to the effect that for the moment it seemed unnecessary to make the representations suggested by Sir Matthew Nathan. Two despatches which I have received from Mr. Scott (copies of which are enclosed) will enable you to judge of the methods of the Viceroy. There is nothing new in them, but it seemed to me that the flagrant disregard of the Wai Wu Pu's explicit telegram of February 23rd required special treatment, and that the opportunity might be turned to account to bring sharply to the notice of the Chinese Government the danger of permitting His Excellency to play such an independent rôle in international affairs. An intimation that we should be unable to transact business with a high officer, such as the Viceroy of Canton, who declined to carry out the wishes of his Government, would, I think, if the necessity again arises, help to impress upon the Chinese Government the danger of allowing the provinces the freedom in these matters which they have assumed during the past nine months.
I have, &c.,
ERNEST SATOW.
The Right Honourable
Sir Edward Grey, Bart.,
&c.,
&c.,
&c.
EXTRACT from telegram by VICEROY to WAI WU Pu of the 3rd March, proposing that T'ANG SHAO YI be appointed to negotiate.
(Translation.)
T'ang Shao Yi is now in control of the railway administration, and, moreover, as a native of Canton, is fully conversant with the situation. I would suggest that Mr. Tang open negotiations at once with the British Minister, with a view to a satisfactory settlement which, when communicated to Canton, will be duly carried
out.
18895
3 D