CO129-338 - Public Offices & Others - 1906 — Page 43

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which gave authority to two Chinese Companies to construct railway lines over the self-same ground as that stated in the Preliminary Agreement. It was not possible to find a parallel in any other country for such a proceeding. A state of affairs in England under which, say, the Board of Trade knowingly gave concessions to an English firm which had already been conceded under written covenant to persons of another nationality was inconceivable. If such a thing happened there was machinery at hand to rectify it, and in the present instance I must naturally look to the Chinese Government to set the proper machinery in motion to redress this plain violation of a solemn contract.

Their Excellencies admitted the justice of what I said, but appeared to think that I was taking too serious a view of the Board of Commerce Memorials, which, Mr. Lien said, were only so much "talk," and suggested that I should let the matter drop on the Prince's assurance that the validity of the Preliminary Agreement remained intact.

I regretted my inability to fall in with this suggestion, referred their Excellencies to my note of the 4th August, pointed out that His Majesty's Government would expect a satisfactory explanation of these extraordinary proceedings, and in order to exhaust every means of obtaining this, I asked them to arrange an interview with Prince Ching, adding that, if necessary, I was prepared to go out to the Summer Palace for that purpose.

Mr. Lien promised to see about this, and last night, after another reminder, I received a short note from him to say that as soon as his Highness can find time he will fix a day for an interview.

Dear Mr. Tong,

I have, &c.

(Signed)

LANCELOT D. CARNEGIE.

Inclosure 1 in No. 1.

Mr. Carnegie to Tong Shoa-yi.

Peking, July 30, 1906. YOU will remember that in our conversation after dinner on the 15th June we agreed to let the question of the Soochow-Hangchow-Ningpo Railway stand over for the present and deal with the Canton-Kowloon Railway first. Before that Mr. Campbell had a private conversation with you on the same subject. As I may not be here long, it seems to me desirable, in order to avoid possible future misunderstanding, that I should put clearly on paper, before the Canton-Kowloon negotiations begin, what the situation is exactly.

The arrangement to let the Soochow Railway question rest in no way impairs the rights of the British and Chinese Corporation under the Soochow-Hangchow-Ningpo Preliminary Agreement, the validity of which has been recognized by the Chinese Government (see interview of Sir Ernest Satow at Wai-wu Pu on the 9th March and Sir Ernest Satow's notes of the 14th March and 19th April to Wai-wu Pu). Of course, if there is manifest obstruction on the part of the Chinese negotiators to the completion of the Canton-Kowloon Final Agreement, or if material steps are taken by Chekiang in violation of the Corporation's rights under the Preliminary Agreement, I shall be forced to warn you at once that I cannot consider myself any longer bound by our verbal arrangement.

Yours very truly,

(Signed) LANCELOT D. CARNEGIE.

Inclosure 2 in No. 1.

MEMORIAL of the Board of Commerce, in the matter of the Rules formed by the Gentry of Chekiang, in respect to Railway Construction in their Province, which they have presented to the Board for purposes of Record, and which the Board now submits to the Throne.

THE Board in the course of July 1905 received representations made by Huang Shao Chi, a Reader of the Hanling College and a native of Chekiang, together with other signatories, laying before the Board the proposal that the ex-Acting Commissioner of the Salt Gabelle of the Liang Huai division, T'ang Shou Chien and Liu Chin Tsao, an expectant metropolitan official of the 4th to 5th grade, should be given the general superintendence of the public movement in their province for the construction by the merchants and gentry themselves of all the railways throughout Chekiang.

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The Board thereupon memorialized the Throne on the 26th August (26th of 7th month) and received an Imperial Decree appointing Tang Shou Chien to metropolitan rank of the 4th grade, and approving for the rest the Memorial we had made.

The Board then proceeded to exhort the parties concerned to act in accordance with the course approved by the Throne, and to elaborate carefully drawn-up regulations, Subsequently Huang Shao Chi and his associates notified the Board that as a result of consultations carried on by correspondence, both written and telegraphic, between their fellow provincials in Peking and those in the province, ten rules and eighty-three sub-sections have been drawn up in compliance with the principles of the Commercial Code, and they requested that these may be duly recorded.

The Board were also addressed by the Grand Secretary, Wang Wen Shao; the President of the Board of Punishments, Ko Pao Hua; the Vice-President of the Board of Revenue, Ch'en Pang Jui; the Vice-President of the Board of Punishments, Shen Chia Pen; and the Acting Vice-President of the Board of Works, Hu Yu Fen, in support of this communication; and informing us that more than two millions' worth of shares had been placed in a few weeks for the railways of all Chekiang, while more capital was being looked for. The rules, they said, had been drawn up by Tang Shou Chi, who was charged with the management of this matter, and who had consulted with his fellow-provincials both in the province itself and at Peking. The Grand Secretary, Wang Wen Shao, and his co-signatories had examined the rules and approved them, and they therefore asked the Board to sanction their adoption.

The Board find that the railways of all Chekiang involves to the highest degree the communications of the country. The local gentry and merchants, and the Chekiang officials in Peking, having deliberated together, and made an effort to construct these lines themselves, have shown a just appreciation of the general situation, and the railway rules they have drawn up are in general accord with the Company Law for Limited Liability Companies submitted to the Throne by this Board and Imperially sanctioned, providing as they do for shareholders, directors, auditors, officers of the Company, &c., and carefully defining their duties and powers.

The Board therefore consider that the rules should be adopted and communicated to the provincial authorities to be carried out,

On the 4th July, 1906, an Imperial Edict was received approving this Memorial.

Inclosure 3 in No. 1.

Rules respecting Construction of Railways in the Province of Chekiang.

1.

1. IN accordance with the Commercial Code the name of the undertaking is determined, and is to be "The Railway Company (Limited) for the construction by merchants of railways throughout all the Province of Chekiang." The Board has been asked to register it, and to apply for Imperial authority to issue an official seal.

2. The general policy of the Company is the construction of all the railways in the Province of Chekiang, with a view to safeguarding the control and profits of transport and carriage. The following lines will forthwith be surveyed and undertaken :--

From Hangchow northwards to Soochow and Shanghae, Hu-shu must be traversed; eastwards to Ningpo and Shao Hsing, Chiangkan must be traversed; therefore Hu Shu- Chiangkan will be the first Hangchow section.

From Hu Shu northwards the line will pass Chia Hsing and Huchou to Soochow and Shanghae.

From Chiangkan eastwards it will pass through Shao Hsing to Ningpo. From Chiangkan south-westwards it will go through Yenchou and Kinhua to Chuchou and Chang Shan to the border of Yu Shan Hsien in Kiangsi.

From Huchou north-westwards it will pass through Chang Hsing to Kuangte in Anhui.

From Shao Hsing southwards it will pass through Taichou and Wenchow, and north-westwards to Ch'u Chou.

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