CO129-320 - Governor Sir Blake Acting Governor May - 1903 [11-12] — Page 190

to the Colony, would be largely enhanced in value.

5.

There is no more important factor,

187

then,

in the development of this Colony than that of railway com-

munication with Canton and the trunk line to Hankow, and as

far as the purely commercial interests of the Colony are con-

cerned it does not much matter whether the railway is construct-

ed by and American or by a British Syndicate.

The latter, however, hold the concession

to build the line and I would venture to suggest that pressure

should be brought to hear on the British and Chinese Corpora-

tion, whose Chairmen is Mr. William Keswick, M.P., and whose

Agents in London are the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corpora-

tion, to begin the building of the line.

6.

While the gentlemen helonging to the

American Company I have mentioned were busy impressing upon

me the desirability of railway connection between Hongkong

and their trunk line, I on my part used my best endeavours to

ascertain the truth or otherwise of certain rumours current

in the Colony to the effect that the Belgian holdings of shares

in the American China Development Company were, as in the

case of the shares in the Peking-Hankow Railway Syndicate, in

reality holdings on behalf of the Russian Government, and

that large numbers of the shares in the Corporation mentioned,

originally held by Americans, had been purchased on the New

York Stock Exchange on behalf of Russia.

*

I have been assured on very good authority

that in both the Syndicate and Company referred to, the

Belgian holdings are really Russian holdings. On the other

hand Mr. Brice, the Secretary of the Company, states that as

far