CO129-344 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 592

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Clause 43. The President and Vice-President's terms of office and their respective salaries shall be fixed by the general meeting of shareholders and submitted to the Board of Commerce for approval. Both shall be eligible for re-election.

Clause 44. All appointments to executive offices under the Company will be made by the President and Vice-President on the recommendation and guarantee of the Directors or a number of shareholders. The latter will be held responsible for their nominees' good behaviour. The Viceroy of Szechuan will take the necessary steps to obtain the transfer of any persons in official employ either in Peking or other provinces who may wish to enter the Company's service.

Clause 45. Should any important matter have to be dealt with, and should no official of the Company be available, the President and Vice-President may appoint an Honorary Director to manage the affair.

ARTICLE 7.-" Kua-ming" and "Kan-hsiu."

Clause 46. The Company's officials are strictly forbidden to indulge in the practice of "kua-ming" (employment of supernumeraries) and "kan-hsin" (appointment of relatives and friends to sinecure posts).

ARTICLE 8.-Works.

Clause 47. A Chinese will be appointed Engineer-in-chief; European or Japanese engineers may be engaged by the Company in consultation with the Engineer-in- chief. The nature of their contracts and their duties shall be determined by the Company, who shall have the right of dismissing them should they prove unsatis- factory. The Engineer-in-chief shall be notified by the Company of their intention to dismiss a foreign employé.

Clause 48. The three sections of the Company's railway system above mentioned shall be surveyed and constructed one after the other, not simultaneously.

Clause 49. The Company will, to begin with, construct a single line of 4 ft. 8 in. (English measure) gauge. Space will be left for a double track which will be added when it is required.

Clause 50. All land, whether official or private owned, required for the line shall be purchased in accordance with the Regulations adopted in the case of the Peking- Hankow and Shanghae-Ningpo railroads. Temples, shrines, and graveyards which it is found impossible to avoid will be paid compensation in accordance with Article 4 of the General Railway Regulations.

Clause 51. Tenders will be invited for the supply of materials, piecework, and

labour.

Clause 52. In the purchase of materials for the construction of the railway preference will be given to the products of this province whenever they prove suitable and they can be obtained at a reasonable cost.

Clause 53. Special Regulations will be drawn up for the telegraph and telephone lines which the Company may legally erect in connection with the railway.

Clause 54. In accordance with the Regulations, the Company shall have the right

of exploiting all mining land situated within a distance of 25 li on either side of the line.

Clause 55. As regards that section of the Company's railway system which will extend into the Hupei territory, special Regulations will be drawn up in consultation with the Hupei authorities, to which both parties shall adhere.

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in the following manner: 5 per cent. as a royalty to the Government; 10 per cent. to the reserve; 15 per cent. as bonus to the Company's employés; 70 per cent. to be divided in bonuses among the shareholders.

ARTICLE 10.—.

---- Recapitulation.

Clause 58. Any matters not provided for in the foregoing Regulations will form the subject of special Regulations to be issued hereafter.

Clause 59. The above Regulations are only temporary. Any modifications which may hereafter be found necessary will be submitted to the Viceroy, who will place them before the Board of Commerce for consideration and approval.

ARTICLE 9.-Accounts.

Clause 56. The Company's accounts will be rendered monthly. There will also be an annual statement of accounts which will give full particulars of all assets and liabilities. This will be published in the newspapers, and a copy will be sent to each holder of a whole share.

Clause 57. When the lines are opened and trains are running, the balance in hand, after payment of interest on shares and working expenses, will be treated as profit, and will be apportioned, in accordance with the General Railway Regulations,