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to the Throne and communicated to the high officials concerned for the purpose of being placed on record.
"The petitioners point out that this mine is intended to supply coal for Govern- ment purposes, and thus differs from other mines. They suggest that the limit of area allowed for mines be extended in this case. This request is granted, but other mines may not use this as a precedent.
"In their further Petition they point out that the boundaries of this mine pass through Pai Tao-tzu and other places, but that this does not in any way affect the mining rights of the Kaiping Company, I approve of this being placed upon record, and the Mining Bureau and the Luanchou Magistrate will likewise be ordered to place these facts upon record. The plan and Memorial are to be filed, and this Rescript handed back to the petitioners."
I have, &c. (Signed)
Inclosure 2 in No. 1.
L. C. HOPKINS.
Statement furnished by Major Nathan to Sir J. Jordan respecting a Concession granted to a Chinese Company to mine Coal, June 28, 1907.
THE first contract made with regard to the handing over of the old Company was that of the 30th July, 1900, signed between Detring and Hoover. This document is a sale of the old Mining Company's rights and possessions to Hoover on the agreement that he was to form, with the help of Moreing, au English Liability Company. The conditions of the formation of the Company were that it was to have a registered share capital of 1,000,0001. in 17. sbares, and that the sum of 100,000l. as working capital should be raised for carrying on the work of the new Company; that each share of the old Company, which had a par value of 100 tacls, was to be converted into twenty-five shares of the Limited Liability Company of the par value of 1. This was in considera- tion of and in full compensation for the transfer by the shareholders of all their rights and interests in the Company. The Limited Company was to be formed to tako over the affairs of the old Company not later than the 28th February, 1901, or as soon after that date as possible in view of the military operations in North China.
The terms of this document having been carried out, a transfer deed was made out on the 19th February, 1901, between the new Company and the old. This transfer was made in the name of Chang Yen Mao and Detring, Chang Yen Mao signing as a Reader of the Grand Secretariat, Director-General of all the mines in the Province of Chihli and Jehol, Director-General of the Imperial Railways of North Chiua, and Director-General of the Mining Company.
In the body of the Agreement it is stated that the said Chang Yen Mao, as Director- General of all the Mines in the Province of Chibli and Jehol, that is to say, in his official capacity, confirms the transfer,
Now the great point raised by the Viceroy, by which he seeks to deny the right of the Mining Company to its property, is the fact that it was the act of Chang Yen Mao, and that the Chinese Government has never recognized it. I believe, in making his assertions, he is unaware of Chang Yen Mao's Petition to the Throne, and of the Imperial Rescript thereto, and also that he is unaware that the name of the previous Viceroy, Li Hung Chang, is coupled with the name of Chang Yen Mao in the latter's Petition to the Throne. This Petition was dated the 26th day of the 5th moon of the 27th year of Kuang Hsü, corresponding to the 11th July, 1901. The Memorial was about adding foreign capital to the Chinese Engineering and Mining Company, and changing it into a foreign Co-operative Limited Liability Company. In this document, after describing the formation of the Company and discussing the arrangements made, the following paragraph occurs :-----
"In addition to satisfactorily arranging some matters which had not been finally settled, and forthwith requesting the Railway and Mining Bureau as well as the Tsung-li Yanên to take note and put it on record, I therefore conjointly with Li Hung Chang (Superintendent of Northern Trade and Governor of Chihli) respectfully present this Memorial, giving the reasons for the establishment of the Chinese and Foreign Co-operative Company, and humbly beg the sacred glance thereon,"
The Imperial Rescript was received: "This has been noted. The said Minister must bear the whole responsibility and let him zealously and satisfactorily manage the
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Company in order to protect this source of profit." It therefore seems obvious that the contention of the Viceroy that the Chinese Government has never recognized the Company is absolutely wrong, and that it may be construed to mean that the Viceroy himself has never recognized the Company. The deed of transfer itself is explicit as to the rights of the Company obtained in the transfer.
With regard to the coal-field, it is stated in the transfer :----
the Estate "First, all the lands, mines, and coal-field commonly known as Kaiping Coal-field, situate in the Province of Chihli aforesaid, and including all the mines and seams of coal and minerals geologically connected with the mines and seams of coal known at Tongshan, Hse Shan, Pan Pe Tien, Ma Chia Kou, Wu Shui Chuang, Chao Ko Chuang, and Linsi and the exclusive right to search and mine for coal and minerals within the area and coal-field aforesaid, and all other rights and privileges enjoyed in connection therewith, and all other interest of the said Chinese Engineering and Mining Company therein."
This paragraph can only be made to read in one way, namely, that the Company possesses exclusive right to mine in the whole of the Kaiping coal-field. Fortunately, the boundaries of this coal-field are remarkably clearly marked geologically, as traced by the outcrop in a continual line from Tongshan to Linsi. It is thus seen that the Viceroy's confention with regard to the Company's rights is absolutely wrong, and in no way supported by any of the facts.
Considering the Petition presented by the Tien-tsin Government Bank to the Viceroy, on which the latter has sanctioned the Concession of the whole of the Kaiping coal-field other than the Tongshan and Linsi mines, the following points are important:-
First, the reason given for the opening of a new mine is that the supply of coal from the mines at Tongshan and Linsi cannot possibly keep pace with the demand. There is no doubt that at the present moment these two mines have not kept pace with the demand, the latter having increased so enormously in the last few years, but this is no reason for the statement made, which is not really a fact. The output from the two mines at Tougshan and Linsi will, in the course of the next two years, provided If this is sufficient labour is obtainable, rise from 3,500 tons per diem to 6,000 tons. not sufficient, then it is [? omission] up to the Company, who are able and will take steps to increase the supply by sinking new shafts.
Second, the Tien-tsin Bank states that they intend to commence operations at Ma Chia Kou. This is one of the places specifically mentioned in the deed of transfer of the Company. It is also interesting to note that, in Chang Yen Mao's Memorial to the Throne, be states that-
"Apart from sinking additional shafts at Lin-Hsi, which is 50 li distant from Tongshan, permission was obtained to buy land and sink shafts at Wu Shui Chwang, Pai Tao-tzu, and other places in the Lanchou district which were found to be connected by the same seam of coal as Tongshan. The object was to provide a supply in case the output of the Tongshan and other mines should not be sufficient."
Third, the Viceroy confers a grant of the whole of the Kaiping coal-field on the ground that the mine is to supply coal needed for Government purposes in North China. This, of course, is a ridiculous pretext, as a very small area would suffice for the purposes of supplying the coal required by the Government.
In the further Petition of the Tien-tsin Bank the position of the Mining Company with regard to the new Company is considered. In this it is to be noted that a state- ment is made that "no permission has ever been given to open mines at these places” (referring to Pan Pe Tien, Wui Shui Chuang, Ma Chia Kou, and Chao Ko Chuang). I have not This is entirely at variance with Chang Yen Mao's statement to the Throne.
got a copy of the general permission to the old Company to open mines at the various Generally places, but I have no doubt that Chang Yen Mao's statement is a true one. speaking, the old Company had absolute right over the whole field, as can be readily seen by the fact that all native mines in the whole field were shut down by the officials through the instrumentality of the old Company.
Even, however, if this had not been the case, the transfer gives the right to the present Company to mine exclusively over the whole field without in any way considering the position that the old Company may have held, and this right can only be annulled
C [2621 cc-5]
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