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[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
Kaisha under the licence granted to them, the effect of which would have been that the Council would have received a double fee for the same piece of Bund frontage. This offer I of course refused, since the Council, having granted the lease of the frontage to the Japanese Company for their exclusive use, could not without fraud lease it also to another Company, at least until the term of the lease had expired.
The defiant and even rude attitude adopted by the French Company and the captain of the "Li Fong" whilst the question was still sub judice is generally deprecated at this port.
AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[17897]
I have, &c.
(Signed)
E. C. WERNER.
(No. 176.) Sir,
No. 1.
237
[June 3.]
SECTION 4.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received June 3.)
Peking, April 15, 1907. REFERRING to my despatch No. 148 of the 27th March, I have the honour to inclose copies of correspondence relating to the Peking Syndicate's claim for compensation in respect of the refusal of the Shansi Government to issue the permit for coal mining in Ping-ting Chou, and also to the carrying into effect of the Syndicate's Smelting Agreement of 1905.
I have, &c. (Signed)
J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure 1 in No. 1.
0
Mr. G. Brown to Sir J. Jordan.
Your Excellency,
Tien-tsin, April 10, 1907. THE claim formulated by your Excellency with the authority of His Majesty's Government, and presented after much patient forbearance at the close of 1906 to the Chinese Government, that compensation at the rate of 2001. a-day, commencing on the 1st January last, should be paid for losses suffered by the Peking Syndicate owing to the continued non-fulfilment on the part of the Shansi authorities of the Agreement entered into with the Syndicate in 1898, amounted on the 31st ultimo to 18,000/
I would respectfully submit, for your Excellency's consideration, that it would be well to call the attention of the Wai-wn Pu to this fact, as also to the impending increase of the daily sum in default of the issue of the permit, as foreshadowed by your Excellency's letter to the Wai-wu Pu of the 18th January.
Your Excellency, however, will know best how to bring home effectively to the Chinese authorities the danger of the position they have taken up in disregarding a solemn compact signed by the chief of the Shansi Bureau of Trade, sealed by the Tsung-li Yamên, and confirmed by Imperial Decree. Apart from the grave injury to the national credit which the course adopted by them must involve when it comes to be fully known to the world at large, the Chinese Government can hardly expect to evade the immediate obligations entailed by so flagrant a violation of its written bond.
I have, &c. (Signed) GEORGE BROWN,
Agent-General.
Inclosure 2 in No. 1.
Mr. G. Brown to Sir J. Jordan.
Your Excellency,
Tien-tsin, April 11, 1907. ON the 18th December, 1906, I had the honour to inform your Excellency that, under instructions from my Board of Directors, I had addressed an application to his Excellency Tong Shao-yi, as Vice-President of the Wai-wu Pu, regarding the carrying into effect of the Shansi Smelting Agreement of 1905,
The courtesy of a reply has not been vouchsafed by his Excellency, and I venture, therefore, to solicit your Excellency's good offices towards obtaining for the Syndicate the fulfilment by the Chinese authorities of their part of this mutual undertaking,
A copy of the text (in English and Chinese) of my communication to his
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