481
said boundary to the port of Kowloon, respectively, and the subse- quent joint working of the two sections shall be arranged by agree- ment between the Viceroy of Canton and the Governor of Hong Kong."
The Governor of Hong Kong suggested this wording: throughout the negotia- tions I have been in close communication with him.
41029
No. 313.
COLONIAL OFFICE to CROWN AGENTS.
GENTLEMEN,
Downing Street, November 16, 1906. WITH reference to the letter from this Department of October 11th,* I am directed by the Earl of Elgin to forward to you the enclosed copies of two Confi- dential despatchest from the Governor of Hong Kong with regard to the Canton- Kowloon Railway.
2. It would seem that Sir M. Nathan's dissatisfaction with the progress made is not unfounded, and Lord Elgin would be glad if you would consider the advisa- bility of making a further communication to the Consulting Engineers, based on the particulars now supplied.
I am, &c.,
C. P. LUCAS.
43161
No. 315.
FOREIGN OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received November 23, 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 under-mentioned paper.
Foreign Office,
November 22, 1906.
REFERENCE TO PREVIOUS LETTER:
Foreign Office. November 15, 1906.*
DESCRIPTION OF ENCLOSURE.
Name and Date.
Bubject.
Canton-Kowloon Railway.
Sir J. Jordan, No. 390
1
44068
No. 314.
PUBLIC RECORD
3
OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
6
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIL- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH--NOT TO
SIR J. JORDAN to SIR EDWARD GREY.
(Received November 17.)
(Received in Colonial Office, November 30, 1906.)
[Copy to Governor, December 5, 1906. Confidential, L.F.]
(No. 402.) SIR,
Peking, October
1906.
WITH reference to my despatch, No. 382, of the 19th September, I have the honour to state that, in an interview yesterday, the Wai-wu Pu assured me that the scheme for a railway from Canton to Amoy had not received the sanction of the Chinese Government.
I referred their Excellencies to the Viceroy's Proclamation, inclosed in my note of the 17th September to Prince Ch'ing, which distinctly stated that the Board of Commerce had sanctioned the formation of a Company to undertake this railway, and pointed out the proposed trace on the map in order to make it clear that some 40 miles of it would follow the same route as the Canton-Kowloon Railway.
Their Excellencies maintained positively that no line from Canton to Amoy had been sanctioned by the Central Government and that no such line could be commenced without such sanction. What had been approved was an old scheme for a short local line of 14 miles from Canton to Whampoa, which dated from before the signature of the preliminary Agreement.
I said that nothing was known of this old project and asked why no mention was made of it in the Canton-Kowloon preliminary Agreement. Their Excellencies made no attempt to offer an explanation, and I insisted that this was another case of a rival line being started by provincial organizations to " put a spoke in the wheel" of the Canton-Kowloon Railway.
After some further discussion their Excellencies said that a written reply would be sent to my note of the 17th September.
I have, &c.,
J. N. JORDAN.
(No. 390.)
SIR,
Enclosure in No. 315.
Peking, September 29, 1906.
IN continuation of Mr. Carnegie's despatch, No. 370, of the 5th instant, I have the honour to report the further progress which has been made in the negotia- tions of the Canton-Kowloon Railway Agreement.
At a meeting held on the 27th instant, the Minutes of which I have the honour to enclose, an understanding was arrived at on several points which had previously caused a difference of opinion, and the only outstanding question which practically remains is the issue price of the loan. This is, of course, a vital consideration, and it has unfortunately been very unfavourably affected by the recent fall in Chinese securities, for which the Chinese themselves are probably largely responsible. However, it would be to the advantage of the British and Chinese Corporation to meet them in the most liberal spirit, and in a telegram which I sent you to-day, I ventured to suggest that advice in this sense might usefully be tendered to the Board of Directors.
Before this last interview took place the Chinese negotiators had contended that the engineer and accountant should be exclusively under Chinese control, while Mr. Bland held that they should be responsible to the Corporation for the efficient construction of the railway. A compromise has now been made by which they are to be appointed and removed by the Corporation in consultation with the Director- General.
Mr. Bland informs me that he is prepared to accept the suggestion made by Kung Taotai with regard to the redemption of the bonds. They will be redeemed by fixed annual payments in accordance with a schedule, and redemption within the first 25 years can only be effected by giving 6 months' notice and paying a premium of 2 per cent.
The question of the commission on materials is one which has been hotly contested on both sides. The Chinese think it unfair that they should be obliged to pay this levy upon articles of local produce, while the British and Chinese Corpora- tion try to convince them that the remuneration is not merely a commission on the purchase of the materials, but a charge for their services in supervising and constructing the line.
L.F. transmitting copy of No. 296.
† Nus, 298 and 308.
Enclosure in No. 311.
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• No. 312.
8 P