[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.] 252
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[May 18.]
ว
21013
SECTION 13 JUN 07
[16199]
No. 1.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received May 18.)
AD
(No. 150.) Sir,
Peking, March 28, 1907. I HAVE the honour to state, in reply to your despatch No. 53 of the 5th ultimo, that a line of railway direct from Shanghae to Kashing, and ending there, would not, in my opinion, injure by its competition either the Shanghae-Nanking or Soochow- Ningpo Railways, and I cannot see how its construction can be construed as con- stituting an infringement of the Agreements concluded by the Chinese Government with the British and Chinese Corporations respecting those two railways. examination of the map will show that such a railway can in no sense be regarded as a rival or a parallel line to the Shanghac-Nanking or Soochow-Ningpo lines, and any objections made to its construction could not fail, in the present temper of the Chinese, seriously to prejudice the interests of British railway enterprise. It would be tantamount to telling the Chinese that they were to be debarred from building lines to connect with railways in which we are interested, and such an intimation would tend to exclude us from further participation in the construction of railways in this country.
Any prolongation of the Shanghae-Kashing line beyond Kashing in the direction of Hangchow or Soochow would, of course, form a legitimate ground of protest.
The information which I have received from His Majesty's Consul at Hangchow confirms generally the statement in the letter from the British and Chinese Corporation with regard to the amount of work that has been done there by the Chekiang Railway Administration.
Dr. Morrison, the correspondent of the "Times," who has just returned from Shanghae, where he inquired into the question, tells me that about 9 miles of earthwork have been thrown up and that a quantity of rails rejected by the Peking- Hankow line has been purchased from the Hanyang Iron Works; but he attaches no serious importance to the work that has been done, and expresses the conviction that the project will be abandoned as soon as the people who have provided the funds begin to realize that their money is being wasted.
Although this opinion is shared by all whom I have consulted on the subject, it is, I think, nevertheless advisable that there should be no further delay in resuming the negotiations for the Soochow-Ningpo line, for, leaving aside the question of the possibility of its completion by the Chinese, there is still the likelihood that the expenditure incurred will have to be recouped in some form or other, and the longer the delay the greater will be the eventual outlay.
Since writing the above I have received a letter from Mr. Bland, copy of which I have the honour to transmit to you herewith. Mr. Bland concurs in my view that the construction of the Kashing line cannot per se be considered a breach of the Corporation's Agreement. He draws attention at the same time to the avowed intentions of the Kiangsu and Chekiang Railway Administrations to build the Soochow-Kashing and Kashing-Hangehow sections respectively, and, as I have already pointed out, this would undoubtedly constitute a real infringement of the Agreement.
I have, &c. (Signed)
My dear Sir John,
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
Mr. Bland to Sir J. Jordan.
J. N. JORDAN.
Peking, March 28, 1907. IN addition to the papers which I sent you this morning by Robertson, I now inclose a letter from the Corporation's agents at Shanghae of the 28th January which
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