SIR,
34
Enclosure 3 in No. 24.
Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, May 19, 1904. I BEG to inform you that at the annual meeting of the Hong Kong Chamber of Commerce held on the 27th ultimo, special reference was made to the projected railway from Canton to Hong Kong, and the wish was then expressed by the members present that the incoming Committee should take up the question with a view, if possible, to accelerating the construction of this important line...
You have possibly seen in the local press a report of the meeting, a copy of which I now beg to enclose for convenience of reference.
•
The reasons for urging the prompt construction of the line are so well known to the Government that I will not here enlarge upon them.
The whole question has been carefully considered by the members of the Com- mittee, who have decided to address His Britannic Majesty's Minister at Peking on the subject, and I beg to enclose a copy of the letter now being despatched to Sir Ernest Satow.
The Committee have reason to believe that His Excellency the Officer Adminis- tering the Government has had the matter under consideration, and feel confident therefore that they can rely upon his fullest and heartiest support in urging forward the early construction of this line, on which the continued prosperity of Hong Kong so vitally depends. We are given to understand that one reason, if not the chief one, why the concessionaires have hitherto failed to develop this important conces- sion received from the Chinese Government upwards of five years ago, has been the difficulty in inducing home investors to place their money in what (owing to engineer- ing and other difficulties) is presumably looked upon as a somewhat doubtful under- taking.
That the line if so constructed as to pass through the old established trading centres of the district will prove from the first to be remunerative we here, on the spot, firmly believe, but it is quite conceivable that a contrary opinion prevails among the investing public in England. We therefore venture to urge that in order to prevent further loss of time the necessary authority be obtained for the Hong Kong Government to guarantee for a term of years the interest on the capital required to construct that portion of the line which will be inside British territory, the esti- mated cost being half a million sterling.
Failing the raising of the necessary capital by any other means, we would sug- gest that the line should be constructed by the local Government, as is not infre- quently done in other Colonies where railways are found necessary for the develop- ment of those territories.
With regard to that portion of the line extending from the British frontier to Canton, this being outside the jurisdiction of the Colony, it is presumably impossible for the Hong Kong Government to take action. We are therefore of opinion that
in view of the urgency of the matter and the imperative necessity which exists for ensuring that the ocean terminus at the southern end of the trunk line which before long will traverse the entire length of the Great Empire of China be situated in the Colony of Hong Kong, that His Majesty's Government be approached with a view to granting a guarantee, also for a term of years, to the investors in this line.
Here, again, we believe that it will be proved, once the line is in full working order, that a dividend-bearing basis will be promptly arrived at.
With such facilities as above suggested, there should be no further delay or hesi- tation on the part of the existing concessionaires to proceed at once to the completion of their arrangements and the commencement of the construction of the line. The Committee are of opinion that the concessionaires should be given twelve months in which to actually start work on the railway, and, if at the end of this period a start has not been made, they consider opportunity should then be afforded for other nego. tiations to be put in train with a view to ensuring the early construction of the railway.
The Committee understand that more than one alternative route for the line has been proposed, of which one is from Kowloon, viâ Taipo, to Sheklung, and thence north of the East River to Canton; another from Kowloon following the line of the sea westward to Castle Peak Bay, then via Deep Bay, Taiping, and Tung Kun to Sheklung. It is possible that the relative advantages of still other routes may
have to be considered.
35
The Committee are not in a position at the moment to express any opinion as
to the most desirable route to be followed, as in their opinion the actual route the railway is to take is a question of secondary importance.
The Committee entirely agree with the views expressed at the recent meeting of this Chamber as to the vital importance attaching to the speedy construction of the projected Canton-Kowloon Railway both in the interests of this Colony and of British trade generally,
We cannot without the greatest alarm contemplate the possibility of the sea terminus of the main line through China being made outside British territory, and we are therefore addressing the Government on the subject in the belief that we can confidently count upon His Excellency's support in bringing the matter to a successful issue.
To the Honourable
The Colonial Secretary,
Hong Kong.
"A."
I have, &c.,
E. A. HEWETT,
Chairman.
MINUTES of the Yearly General Meeting of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce, held on Wednesday, the 27th April, 1904, at 3.30 p.m., for the purpose of receiving the Report of the Committee and passing the Secretary's Accounts for the year ending 31st December, 1903.
Present:-
Mr. E. A. Hewett (Chairman), and Messrs. D. R. Law (Vice-chairman), J. R. M. Smith, R. C. Wilcox, A. G. Wood, N. A. Siebs, H. E. Tomkins, A. Forbes, T. Coch, rane, W. B. Dixon, A. S. Mihara, E. W. Mitchell, E. H. Hinds, G. W. F. Playfair, W. D. Graham, J. R. Michael, A. Marty, Murray Stewart, O. I. Ellis, G. Currie, E. Ormiston, E. S. Whealler, Taro Hodzumi, C. H. Thompson, W. Danby, A. Haupt, G. H. Dann, A. J. Raymond, G. C. Moxon, J. J. Leiria, H. P. White, D. E. Brown, W. S. Harrison, C. A. Tomes, H. Skott, G. de Champeaux and A. R. Lowe (Secretary).
The Secretary having read the notice calling the meeting.
The Chairman (Mr. HEWETT) said:-Gentlemen,-The first business before the meeting is a purely formal one-to confirm the report of the last annual meeting, May, 1903, and the report of a special meeting held on 12th August, 1903, with regard to the election of a representative of the Chamber of Commerce on the Legis- lative Council. The minutes of these meetings were published at the time and I take it you will hold them as read. I beg therefore to propose that these be con-
Mr. D. R. Law seconded, and the motion was agreed to.
firmed.
The CHAIRMAN said:-Gentlemen-The reports and accounts of the Chamber for last year have been in your hands for some days and we will therefore with your per- mission take them as read. I will offer a few remarks on the more important ques- tions which have engaged the attention of your Committee during 1903, and will then ask those members who may wish to do so to address the meeting. For the sake of convenience I will take the various matters dealt with in the report in due order.
The question of the Brussels Sugar Convention has recently engaged the earnest attention of the Committee. In order that full protection under this convention be secured for our important local sugar industries, certain suggestions have been made to the Government here with a view to the possibilities of the future rather than to the actual needs of the present.
At our last meeting we had to express regret that the Hong Kong Government declined to accede to our request that all those employed as pilots in the waters of the Colony should be licensed. and a bill has recently been before the Legislative Council dealing with this important As you are aware the Chamber has again urged this, question. The Ordinance appears to fully meet the requirements of the case, and we trust it will not be long before the pilot service is placed on a satisfactory footing. In August last His Excellency the British Minister to China while on his return
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