CO129-347 - Governor Sir Lugard - 1908 [4-6] — Page 305

unable to trace, and without reference to this Government

(to whose action in lending £1,100,000 to the Governor-

-General of the Hukuang Provinces to redeem the Canton-

302

You

-Hankow Railway from the American China Development Company

the British Chinese Corporation is alone indebted for the

first option of a loan for construction) a French Group

has been given rights (confirmed by the Foreign Office) to

participate on equal terms with the British Chinese Cor-

-poration with the exception that the Chairman shall be a

British subject nominated by the British Chinese Corpora-

-tion and shall have a casting vote. To the destructive

criticism by Lord Elgin (Colonial Office to Foreign Office

July 10th. and 30th., and August 24th.) upon this surrend-

-er of the privileges which it had been the object of the

Loan

Hongkong to secure I have nothing to add, but I desire to

submit a few observations upon the subsequent development

of the question at issue.

The British Group appear to have

intended that the admission of French participation should

be limited to purely financial assistance, and they urged

upon the Governor-General that it was a purely company

matter eonfined to the methods of raising the capital

required. The French do not appear to have taken this view,

and