CO129-330 - Public Offices - 1905 — Page 576

Enclos 6 mins.

PEKING.

509

19th April 1905.

A

Dear Sir Matthew Nathan,

HONGKONG-CANTON RAILWAY.

I arrived here on the 14th inst. and have

now fully discussed with Sir Ernest Satow the proposed Loan and

Working Agreements.

From the enclosed copies of correspondence with Sir Ernest, you

will observe that he anticipates opposition from the Chinese on two

important points, and I understand he has written to the Foreign

Office and also to you, giving his views thereon. Both of the se

"probable objections" have already been fully discussed in London,

and I also referred to them when I saw you in Hongkong.

I am now employed in drafting brief summaries of the two Agree-

ments, and these when translated into Chinese Sir Ernest proposes

to lay before the Wal-Wu-Pu. It is not an easy matter to epitomise

documents of the nature of these two Agreements, and as I have

pointed out to Sir Ernest, there is a danger of unfavourable com-

parison being made hereafter by the Chinese when the complete Agree-

ments come before them, but he proposes to guard against this by mak-

ing it clear to the Wai-Wu-Pu that the drafts now being presented

are only bare outlines of the proposed Agreements.

Sir Ernest considers that Canton is the proper place in which

to carry on the active negotiations, and he will endeavour to arrange

this if it can be managed without serious opposition from the Offici-

al who negotiated the Preliminary Agreement for the Railway.

Sir Ernest strongly recommends that the Preamble of the Sched-

ule or Working Agreement be revised, as he thinks it would be a mis-

take to make reference therein to the Convention of 9th June 1898.

If necessary this Convention can be verbally referred to when inter-

viewing the Wai-Wu-Pu.

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