CO129-344 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 510

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letter of the 10th instant was written.

The

Resident Engineer of the British Section of

the Canton-Kowloon Railway, in discussing the

prospects of the line, has expressed the opin-

ion that "it would pay the Chinese much bet-

ter and suit the general feeling in the coun-

try more if the Chinese section of the Kowloon-

Canton Railway were worked as a branch of the

Canton-Hankow Railway". If this arrangement

is ultimately adopted, the disadvantage to

the Hong Kong line (already alluded to in my

former letter) of having foreign officials

in positions of control at Canton might be-

come very serious.

5. In view of these considerations,

and having given his most careful attenti on

to the question, Lord Elgin regrets that he

cannot intimate his concurrence in the pro-

posed course of action which appears to him

to

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