PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
16404
110
No. 88.
CROWN AGENTS to COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received May 16, 1905.)
Kowloon-Canton Railway.
SIR,
Whitehall Gardens, London, S.W., May 15, 1905. IN continuation of our letter of the 19th of April,* I have the honour to enclose, for the information of Mr. Secretary Lyttelton, copies of the instructions given by Sir John Wolfe Barry & Partners to Mr. J. C. Bruce, who has been selected to carry out the survey of the Kowloon-Canton Railway, together with copies of the agreementst between the Consulting Engineers and Mr. Bruce and his assistant, Mr. Valpy. We have transmitted copies of the papers to the Government of Hong Kong.
I have, &c.,
Enclosure 1 in No. 88.
E. E. BLAKE.
21, Delahay Street, Westminster, S. W., May 10, 1905. Kowloon-Canton Railway.
British Section.
INSTRUCTIONS to Mr. J. C. Bruce, appointed (under Agreement, dated 10th May, 1905) as Chief Surveying Engineer, in charge of reconnaissances and surveys to be carried out in connection with the above railway.
Mr. Bruce will leave England by the P. & O. S.S. “Marmora ” 1905, and proceed to Hong Kong, and will be accompanied by Mr. F. W. W. Valpy, on 12th May, as Assistant Surveying Engineer.
On arrival he will report himself to his Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong, and make all arrangements necessary to forthwith commence work, including the employment of such subordinate staff and labourers as may be necessary, having regard to the expeditious and economical execution of the work.
is
In the first instance reconnaissances of two routes, known as the "Eastern" and Western" (indicated generally on the drawing attached), from Kowloon to a point on the frontier of the British territory in the neighbourhood of Sham-chun are to be made, together with preliminary estimates and all other information in sufficient detail to enable an accurate decision as to their relative merits to be arrived at.
On the completion of the reconnaissance surveys and the plans, estimates and investigations connected therewith, Mr. Bruce will submit, on behalf of the Consulting Engineers, the whole of the information he has obtained to the Governor of Hong Kong, and will afford His Excellency any explanation or assistance he may desire.
The gauge of the railway is proposed to be 4 feet 8 inches, the ruling gradient (except as hereafter mentioned) is not to be steeper than I in 100, and the minimum radius of curve not less than 660 feet, but it is to be clearly understood that wherever possible without unduly enhancing the estimated first cost of the railway flatter grades and curves of larger radius are to be adopted.
Mr. Bruce will commence his work by investigating the "Eastern" route, and will in the first instance examine that portion of it immediately to the north and east of Kowloon, where a range of hills has to be crossed, and will most carefully consider the relative merits of doing so by an open railway with gradients not exceeding 1 in 40, as proposed by Mr. P. T. Large, and by tunnelling through them with grades not steeper than 1 in 100, having regard both to capital cost, and to economy and facility of working, and convenience of traffic hereafter. Mr. Bruce will, immediately he has gone over the ground, embody the result of this examination in a telegraphic report to the Consulting Engineers in London in such a form that the Consulting Engineers may be able to transmit their views on the matter to him by cable, before he is ready to place the complete reconnaissance surveys and the information relative thereto before the Governor.
• No. 81.
↑ Not printed.
111
Mr. Bruce will then proceed with the remainder of the Eastern route, and on the completion of the investigation of that route Mr. Bruce will return to Kowloon by the Western route, making all necessary investigations by the way.
On the completion of the investigation of both routes, Mr. Bruce will prepare general plans, sections showing gradients and comparative estimates, and submit the same, on behalf of the Consulting Engineers, to the Governor of Hong Kong.
While engaged on the reconnaissances of both routes, Mr. Bruce will make careful enquiries as to the nature and extent of trade and population in the vicinity of the two routes, and any other matters affecting the construction, working and maintenance of the railway hereafter, and will submit the results of these investiga- tions to His Excellency the Governor. Mr. Bruce must also send by post to the Consulting Engineers in England a copy of all documents submitted to His Excel- lency the Governor, and during the whole progress of the work he is to forward weekly to the Consulting Engineers in England a general statement of made.
progress On receipt of instructions of the Governor as to which of the routes is to be finally adopted, Mr. Bruce will forthwith proceed to locate the line, and additional staff will be provided for this purpose, if required. The location to be carried out on the basis of the printed regulations for survey work hereto survey ig generally attached, excepting as modified by these present instructions. specification and type drawings with other information for guidance in preparing In addition, general his estimates are handed to Mr. Bruce.
Mr. Bruce will pay particular attention when setting out the line to adopting a location which will conveniently lend itself to the railway being doubled when traffic in the future may demand, and when locating station sites will bear in mind the necessity for extended accommodation hereafter. In regard to the terminal station at Kowloon and the facilities to be provided there, Mr. Bruce will consult with such local bodies or authorities as the Governor of Hong Kong may approve. may be necessary in places to survey and locate alternative alignments for the consideration of the Consulting Engineers in England.
It
On completion of the detailed survey, Mr. Bruce will, after reporting himself to the Governor of Hong Kong, make arrangements to return forthwith to England to complete detailed estimates and working drawings. During the voyage home, he will occupy himself and staff in taking out earthwork quantities and doing such other work in connection with the detailed estimates required, as may be possible on board ship.
On arrival in England, Mr. Bruce will report himself to the Consulting Engineers for orders.
A sum of £250 has been placed to Mr. Bruce's credit with the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China at Hong Kong, and Mr. Bruce is authorised hereby to draw on that amount to meet the liabilities of the Consulting Engineers as follows:-
(1) £40 on his arrival in Hong Kong for the proportion of his salary accrued to 12th June, 1905, arranged to be paid in Hong Kong, and £40 monthly thereafter on the 12th day of each month.
(2) Payments of £30 per month to Mr. Valpy for the proportion of his salary
arranged to be paid in Hong Kong, commencing on 12th day of July.
(3) Payments to assistants and labourers (native or otherwise) employed in
connection with the surveys, &c.
(4) Travelling expenses and field allowance of himself and Mr. Valpy while actually engaged on the survey. The field allowance to be limited to 10s. a day in the case of Mr. Bruce, and 78. 6d. per day in the case of Mr. Valpy (Note.--The salary is to cover living expenses in Hong Kong and Kowloon.)
(5) The purchase or hire of the necessary camp equipage and 'office furniture.
(6) The rent of an office in Hong Kong or Kowloon, unless accommodation
can be provided by the Government.
(7) Cablegrams, stationery and other petty items of expenditure. Further sums will be placed to Mr. Bruce's credit from time to time. Mr. Bruce will keep clear and accurate accounts, and will obtain and produce vouchers for each payment.
Page 570Page 571
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 882
6 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
112
All communications to Mr. Bruce and Mr. Valpy from the Consulting Engineers will be directed (as arranged with Mr. Bruce) to the care of the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China at Hong Kong, and Mr. Bruce must arrange with that firm for the forwarding of all such communications without delay to himself and Mr. Valpy, as the case may be..
The registered address of the Consulting Engineers is "Consilium, London,” and on arrival at Hong Kong, Mr. Bruce will forthwith register his telegraphic address at the Eastern Telegraph Company's office there, which will be done free of charge, and he will cable this address at once to the Consulting Engineers, thus reporting his safe arrival in the Colony, and he must arrange with the Eastern Telegraph Company that all telegrams are to be forwarded to him immediately on receipt.
Mr. Bruce is to use the "via Eastern Telegraphic Social Code," and furnish himself with a sufficient number of copies before leaving England, but copies of the code are always available at the Eastern Telegraph Company's offices.
Mr. Bruce will add on pages 311 to 320 of his copies of the code a considerable number of sentences which have been prepared and are to be seen in manuscript in the Consulting Engineers" copy of the code, which may become useful during the progress of the survey.
The Consulting Engineers shall, with fair regard to economy, be kept informed by telegraph by means of the Social Code and the additional manuscript sentences of the progress of the work and the views of the Governor.
Accepted:
J. C. BRUCE.
17903
(Confidential.)
To Sir E. Satow.
For SIR JOHN Wolfe BarRY & PARTNERS.
No. 89.
J. WOLFE BARRY.
FOREIGN OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE.
(Received May 26, 1905.)
[Copy to Governor, May 31, 1905. Secret. L.F.]
The Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs presents his compliments to the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, and is Telegram No. 84, May 25, 1905, directed by the Secretary of State to transmit, for the information of Mr. Secretary Lyttelton, the accompanying copy of a telegram, as marked in the margin, relating to the railway to Whampoa.
Foreign Office,
May 25, 1905.
Enclosure in No. 89.
The MARQUESS OF LANSDOWNE to Sir E. SATOW.
(No. 84.) (Telegraphic.) P.
Foreign Office, May 25, 1905.
Project to construct railway to Whampoa. The Colonial Office represent that the hastening of the negotiations respecting the Canton-Kowloon Railway would be the best safeguard against above-mentioned project.
Suggestions to the same effect have been made independently by the British and Chinese Corporation and the Hong Kong China Association, but the former express apprehension that great procrastination is threatened by the present pause in the negotiations and by the intervention of Shêng.
Reasonable time must be given to the Chinese Government to consider the proposal, but it should be made plain to them that we expect the matter to be settled with expedition, as the Hong Kong Government are interested in it.
113
We also expect that means will be found to avoid a recurrence of the intermin- able delays in recent railway negotiations which have been caused by Shêng's obstruction.
18416
No. 90.
FOREIGN OFFICE to COLONIAL OFFICE. (Received May 30, 1905.)
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 relative to the Canton-Kowloon Railway.
Foreign Office,
May 29, 1905.
Name and Date.
DESCRIPTION OF ENCLOSURES.
To British and Chinese Corporation, May 27, 1905
To China Association, May 27, 1905
SIB,
Subject.
That His Britannic Majesty's Minister in Pekin has been instructed to indicate to Chinese Government that the negotiations about the Canton - Kowloon Railway should not be delayed.
Enclosure 1 in No. 90.
FOREIGN OFFICE to the BRITISH AND CHINESE CORPORATION, LIMITED.
Foreign Office, May 27, 1905.
I AM directed by the Marquess of Lansdowne to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 22nd instant, containing a statement of the present position of the negotiations with the Chinese Government relative to the Canton-Kowloon Railway.
You state that delay is taking place in the negotiations in progress at Peking, and you express the hope that His Majesty's Minister may continue to support Mr. Ross, the representative of the British and Chinese Corporation at Peking, in overcoming any difficulties which may arise in those negotiations, and that he may assist that gentleman in concluding the final Agreement.
I am to inform you that, in the opinion of Lord Lansdowne, no undue delay in the negotiations can so far be held to have occurred which would justify a complaint being addressed to the Chinese Government on the subject.
It should be borne in mind that the preliminary contract for the line was signed in 1898. The position, therefore, is that, after letting the matter rest for close on seven years, the Chinese Government have been now approached with a proposal for a final agreement into which an entirely new element has been intro- duced by the intention to work as one railway the two sections which will be respectively in British and Chinese territory.
It is, therefore, only reasonable that the Chinese Government should take time to consider the proposal, and to consult His Excellency Sheng, Director-General of Railways.
Sir E. Satow has, however, been instructed by telegraph to clearly indicate to the Chinese Government that His Majesty's Government expect the matter to be settled with expedition, and trust that the delays which have occurred previously in regard to railway negotiations and which were due to the procrastination of Sheng will be avoided.
The Chairman,
British and Chinese Corporation, 3. Lombard Street, E.C.
18885
I am, &c.,
E. GORST.
P