CO129-331 - Public Offices - 1905 — Page 484

of foreign nationality.

(Official seal of the

Chinese Railway Ad-

ministration.

(Signed) Sheng-Hsuan Huai.

Director General of Railways.

>

(Translation.)

Enclos 2 m Nor

The Tsung-Li Yamên to Mr. Bax-Ironside,

PEKING,

May 10th 1899.

477

Sir:-

On the 6th instant we received your letter to

the effect that in the prospectus issued by the

Belgian Syndicate it is stated that China has pro-

ised that in the event of the abandonment of the

American Contract for the Hankow-Canton Railway the

Belgian Syndicate will be intrusted with the construc-

tion of that line. You added that you had heard that this

promise was given subsequently to the settlement of

the Belgian Agreement, and you inquired whether such

an arrangement had been made.

We have the honour to inform you that neither

the Belgian Agreement in twenty-nine clauses nor the

Supplementary Agreement in ten clauses contains any

such stipulation, and that there has been no subse-

quent arrangement of any kind.

We have, &c.,

(Cards of their Excellencies the Min- isters inclosed).

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