Enclosure 1. (continued)
107
Manager wrote to the effect that Sheng Tao tai, Director-General of the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration, had replied that in the first place the line in question belonged to private individuals, and secondly that his Administration had received no instructions from the Chinese Government to terminate the line at the new frontier.
5.
The matter was then allowed to drop till last year when Sir Henry Blake directed that the Chinese Authorities should be addressed on the subject of the removal to the frontier of the terminal station of the Chinese Telegraph Line. A letter was accordingly written to His Majesty's Consul-General at Shanghai who was asked to notify the Director-General of the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration that the removal should be effected within a period of 6 months.
6.
In reply to a communication from Sir Pelham Warren in that sense the Director-General of Telegraphs wrote a letter (see enclosure 1) in which he claimed that the Telegraph Station being situated in the New Territories and not in Hongkong was in the same category as the Telegraph Lines in Shanghai, Weihai, and other places, and explained that although the Chinese Telegraphs are controlled by Officials, the Chinese Government permits private individuals to hold shares in the undertaking and that therefore the lines are the property of private individuals. The Director-General begged that the Telegraph House and Lines might therefore be allowed to remain in the leased Territory.
7.
Enclosure 1. (tendated)
107
Manager wrote to the effect that Sheng Tao tai, Director-General
of the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration, had replied
that in the first place the line in question belonged to
private individuals, and secondly that his Administration had
received no instructions from the Chinese Government to termi-
nate the line at the new frontier.
5.
The matter was then allowed to drop till
last year when Sir Henry Blake directed that the Chinese Autho-
rities should be addressed on the subject of the removal to
the frontier of the terminal station of the Chinese Telegraph
Line.
A letter was accordingly written to His
Majesty's Consul-General at Shanghai who was asked to notify
the Director-General of the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Adminis-
tration that the removal should be effected within a period
of 6 months.
6.
In reply to a communication from Sir Pel-
ham Warren in that sense the Director-General of Telegraphs
wrote a letter (see enclosure 1) in which he claimed that the
Telegraph Station being situated in the New Territories and
-444
not in Hongkong was in the same category as the Telegraph Lines
in Shanghai, Weihai, and other places, and explained that
although the Chinese Telegraphs are controlled by Officials,
the Chinese Goverment permits private individuals to hold
shares in the undertaking and that therefore the lines are
the property of private individuals.
The Director-General begged that the
Telegraph House and Lines might therefore be allowed to re-
main in the leased Territory.
7.
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