CO129-344 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 473

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

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settling the Soochow-Hangchow-Ningpo question satisfactorily will be impaired by any progress that may be made in the next few weeks with the Tien-tsin-Yang-tsze negotiations. The latter were approaching completion when they were interrupted by the Imperial Rescript transferring their conduct to other hands; while in the case of the Soochow-Hangchow-Ningpo Railway the Imperial Decree ordering the cancellation of the Preliminary Agreement had still to be overcome.

Any lukewarmness which we showed about the former question would react unfavourably upon the latter, and our best chance of settling both is to let them take their natural course, always giving precedence, as far as possible, to the purely British line.

I have, &c. (Signed) J. N. JORDAN.

CHINA RAILWAYS.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[21745]

No. 1.

[July 1.]

SECTION

C. C. 26320

British and Chinese Corporation to Foreign Office.~(Received July 1.) REC: Sir,

REGE 23 JUL 07 22, Abchurch Lane, London, June 28, 1907. WE beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of, and to thank you for, your letter of the 24th instant, informing us that a copy of our letter of the 14th instant will be sent to His Majesty's Minister at Peking, but that Sir E. Grey still considers it would be inadvisable for the Corporation, in their own interest, to make any protest to the Chinese Government against the construction of the Shanghae-Kashing line.

We take note of Sir E. Grey's views, and only beg leave to remark that it was not in our interests, but those of the bond and net-profit certificate-holders of the Shanghae-Nanking Railway, that we felt it to be our duty to invoke Sir Edward Grey's attention to the detrimental effect which the Shanghae-Kashing line would have upon the Shanghae-Nanking line and the Soochow-Ningpo line.

We are, Sir (Per the British and Chinese Corporation, Limited), (Signed) W. KESWICK, Chairman.

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