CO882-6 — Page 579

19701

129

No. 97.

OFFICE.

THE BRITISH AND CHINESE CORPORATION, LIMITED, to COLONIAL

(Received June 17, 1905.)

[Capy to Foreign Office, and to Governor, Confidential, June 27, 1905. L.F.]

[Answered by No. 104.]

SIR,

I BEG leave to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 15th instant, numbered 19701/1905,* and to inform you that a telegram was despatched last evening to Messrs, Jardine, Matheson & Co., Hong Kong, in the following terms:- "Referring to letter from Ross to British Minister, 17th April, we repudiate Ross's statement with regard to Section number 16 and our practice. Colonial Office exceedingly annoyed. Inform Ross.”

3. Lombard Street, London, E.C., June 16, 1905.

I extremely regret Mr. Ross's unfortunate remark for which I can offer no justification, but feel bound to submit that when read and examined in conjunction with Sir E. Satow's letter, to which it is in reply, there is no suggestion of any meditated surrender of a position which the Corporation and Mr. Ross were spe- cially charged to maintain.

The paragraph, as I read it, does not refer to the main mode or principle of sharing profits according to the cost of the two sections of railway, but to the sub- sidiary point of the exclusion from the capital cost, of land, discounts and com-

mission.

That this anticipated "stumbling block" and others should have been the subject of conference between Mr. Ross and the Minister, who are in effect asso- ciated in the negotiation and have the same object in view, appears to me to be only right and proper, but Mr. Ross should not have suggested any doubt concerning your attitude in regard to this provision or any other in the agreement, and I can only repeat and beg you to accept an expression of my deep regret, in which I feel sure the Board will concur.

I am well aware of the distinct and clear understanding stated in your letter and am quite at a loss to know why Mr. Ross should have used the terms complained of. I believed he was as clearly aware of the importance attached to them as I was myself.

No. 99.

MR. LYTTELTON to GOVERNOR SIR M. NATHAN.

(Confidential.)

SIR

Foreign Office, 6th June.

Downing Street, June 16, 1905.

Wrra reference to previous correspondence respecting the proposed Canton- Kowloon Railway, I have the honour to transmit to you, for your information, the accompanying copies of correspondence* on the subject.

Foreign Office, 7th June.

To British and Chinese Corporation,

15th June.

To Foreign Office, 16th June.

21225

No. 100.

I have, &c.,

ALFRED LYTTELTON.

THE BRITISH AND CHINESE CORPORATION, LIMITED, to COLONIAL

SIR,

OFFICE.

(Received June 20, 1905.)

[Copy to Governor, June 27, 1905, Confidential. L.F.]

3, Lombard Street, London, E.C., June 19, 1905. CANTON-KOWLOON RAILWAY.

We have received to-day a report from our representative, dated Peking, 4th May, 1905, respecting the negotiations.

We beg to submit a copy for your information.

We are, &c.,

THE BRITISH AND CHINESE CORPORATION, LIMITED,

per W. KESWICK,

Chairman.

ཟ། ?། ། |

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :--

C.O. 882

6

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-

COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO

19701

SIR

No. 98.

I am, &c.,

W. KESWICK,

Chairman.

COLONIAL OFFICE to FOREIGN OFFICE.

Downing Street, June 16, 1905.

I AM directed by Mr Secretary Lyttelton to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th instant, † transmitting a copy of a despatch from Sir E. Satow with regard to the Canton-Kowloon Railway, in which he encloses a copy of Mr. Ross's letter to him of 17th April.

2. A copy of a confidential letter, which Mr. Lyttelton has caused to be addressed to the Chairman of the British and Chinese Corporation, Limited. is enclosed, and I am to suggest that it should be communicated to Sir E. Satow.

I am, &c.,

• No. 95.

† No. 93

C. P. LUCAS.

Enclosure in No. 100.

CANTON-KOWLOON RAILWAY.

We have so far had no occasion to address you separately in this matter, as the preliminaries which must precede the active negotiations are still unsettled. You will, however, have received through our Head Office in Hong Kong copies of the reports of progress which we have addressed to these friends and to the Governor of Hong Kong.

When passing through Hong Kong, Mr. Ross had an interview with Sir Matthew Nathan and learnt His Excellency's wishes in connection with the Working Agreement, which are briefly, that no alteration is to be made in its terms except subject to his consent, and that reports of progress are from time to time to be sent to him direct.

On arriving in Peking, we found that the British Minister had received advices from the Foreign Office as referred to in Colonial Office letter addressed to your Chairman, dated the 17th February, and we were informed that as soon as His Excellency had thoroughly mastered the details of the proposed agreements, he would approach the Wai Wu Pu. reference, brief summaries of the more important points of the Loan and Working At His Excellency's request we prepared for his Agreements, copies of which we beg to enclose.

On the 28th April, Sir Ernest Satow laid a brief outline of the proposals of the Corporation and the Hong Kong Government before Na Tung, an official of the Wai Wu Pu, and this is now being considered by that august Board.

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• No. 92, 93, 93 and 98.

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