CO129-335 - Governor Nathan - 1906 [8-10] — Page 168

:

CONFIDENTIA L.

Hongkong.

で

164

CO.

35482

RECE

REG 26 SEP 06:

Government House,

Hongkong, 28th.August,1906.

146

6

My Lord,

I received by last mail from the War Office

a copy of the new "Rules for the Transliteration of Place-

Names occurring on Foreign Maps" compiled in the Topogra-

phical Section of the General Staff, and looking through

the part of this work dealing with maps of China (pages 62

to 76) it has occurred to me that in the reproduction of

the Map of the Province of Kuang Tung, forwarded under

cover of my Confidential despatch of the 2nd. May, 1906,

the

Topographical Sectin may think necessary to alter the spell-

A

ing of the place names occurring on the map. The Chinese

characters for these names are I believe transliterated on

the map into the Cantonese and not into the Pekingese dia-

lect as in Wade's system. This is right in view of the fact

that in the country covered by the map Cantonese is spoken

but in reproducing the Cantonese sounds it is probable that

foreign rather than English equivalents have been used.

2.

I have the honour to request that the War

Office

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

THE EARL OF ELGIN, K.G.,

80.

800 • 1

8C.