CO129-343 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 663

This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.}

CHINA RAILWAYS,

CONFIDENTIAL.

C. O.

657

14492 [March 30.]

Sofief 24 APR 07,

[10299]

Sir,

No. 1.

The British and Chinese Corporation to Foreign Office.-(Received March 30.)

22, Abchurch Lane, London, March 28, 1907. WE beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of, and to thank you for, your letter of the 27th instant. We are greatly concerned at its contents, and beg to express our earnest hope that Sir Edward Grey may decide not to instruct Sir John Jordan to co-operate with the German Minister in pressing the negotiations for the Tien-tsin-- Yangise Railway Loan, if such co-operation involves the subordination or postpone- ment of the negotiations for the Soochow-Ningpo Railway Loan.

We base our representation on the following considerations:--

The preliminary Agreement for the Soochow-Ningpo Railway Loan takes prece dence of the Tien-tsin Yangtse Railway Loan Agreement in date, and it is solely a British project; whereas, in the Tien-tsin-Yangtse Railway the British interest is in one-third only of its length and cost, and the German two-thirds. The Souchow- Ningpo Railway is, further, a part of the Yangtse Valley system, and an essential complement to the Shanghae-Nanking Railway, now in course of construction and rapidly approaching completion, and with which it should be linked up and worked as soon as possible.

The Agreement has already been greatly prejudiced by the negotiations having been postponed, and Sir Edward Grey is aware that the Agreement, after being threatened, was cancelled by Imperial Edict in virtue of which the Chinese have started railway works at several points; and we are convinced that if a further postponement of negotiations takes place the business will be lost.

Sir Edward Grey will remember that we have made repeated representations on the subject to His Majesty's Foreign Office, and that in deference to the views of Sir Edward Grey, of His Majesty's Colonial Office, and of His Majesty's Minister at Peking, we concurred, although with some misgiving, in the negotiations for the Soochow- Ningpo Railway Agreement being delayed in order that those for the Canton-Kowloon. Railway Loan might be completed, and we did so in the full belief that as soon as the Canton-Kowloon Railway negotiations were completed, Sir Edward Grey would give instructions for the Soochow-Ningpo Railway Loan Agreement to be taken up.

We further beg leave to add that we have communicated a copy of this letter to Chinese Central Railways, and that although they would naturally desire to see this business advanced, they admit that they cannot expect Sir Edward Grey to give it precedence of the Soochow-Ningpo Railway Agreement.

We are, &c.

(per the British and Chinese Corporation, Limited), (Signed) W. KESWICK, Chairman.

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