that is to say, on or before the 7th September, 1905, there shall be paid 2,000,000 and the balance on or before the 7th December, 1905, by the party of the first part at New York in American gold dollars to the party of the second part without any deduction. So soon as this sum of 6,750,000 American gold dollars, with its interest, shall have been received by the party of the second part in full from the party of the first part, the party of the second part shall thereupon be fully divested of all the demand special powers arising from all Agreements aforesaid, and any and every which, on account of the cancellation of such Agreements aforesaid, could be made on the Imperial Chinese Government. And in accordance with the above arrangement the party of the second part shall return in full to the party of the first part the property in China of the China Development Company the railroad complete, the railroad materials, plans and surveys, all special mining powers, together with all property in China of the China Development Company whatsoever, whether express or implied.
The two parties to this Agreement both are desirous that the Imperial Government of China shall take over full control of the property in China accruing to the party of the second part under each of the above referred to Agreements, but they mutually declare that until payment of the final instalment all present conditions shall continue unchanged, and the status and privileges of the party of the second part shall not on account of this Agreement be altered. They mutually declare further that the party of the second part shall, within forty days from date hereof, notify the party of the first part of the retention or delivery to the party of the first part of the 2,222,000 dollars of loan bonds of the Imperial Chinese Government already sold. Should the holder or holders of such bonds not inform the party of the second part in due time of his or their determination, the said holder or holders shall thereby be taken to have elected to retain the loan bonds, and the party of the first part shall be at liberty for every bond retained at the rate of 90 cents to the dollar to deduct from the final payment the amount thereof. The party of the first part agrees to pay on the loan bonds already sold the interest from the 1st May, accrued due up to or before the 7th September, 1907, and further to pay principal and interest when due to the holders of all loan bonds retained. And it is mutually agreed that the Preliminary Agreement of the 7th June, 1905, having been recognized as valid by both parties, shall be thoroughly carried out.
On the day and year first above mentioned the party of the first part through Hukuang Viceroy Chang and Envoy Liang, in virtue of Imperial Decree, sign this Agreement in duplicate, and the party of the second part through the General Manager and Secretary of the said Company, sign this Agreement in duplicate and affix the seal of the said Company in token of good faith.
(No. 27.) Sir,
Signed by Hakuang Viceroy Chang, representing Hunan, Hupei, and Kuangtung; by Liang.
Signed by Envoy Liang.
Signed by General Manager of China Development Company Whittier,
Signed by Secretary Coote (F).
Witnesses:
(Signed) YING-KO-LAN.
FOSTER.
Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Consul-General Fraser to Sir J. Jordan.
Hankow, May 1, 1908.
IN confirmation of my telegram No. 9 of the 29th April, I have the honour to forward copy of a despatch which I am addressing to his Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong with its inclosure.
As regards the line hence to Szechuan, I propose to impress on his Excellency Chao, when I pay him my farewell visit, the desirability of obtaining a foreign expert of the very highest standing to locate the trace, at any rate, between Ichang and K'nei-chou Fu, which section Hupei has agreed to let Szechuan build and operate for twenty-five years, as the proposals of the Chinese and Japanese engineers involve gradients of 1 in 30 and constant curves. His Excellency's Secretary is confident that there will be no difficulty in financing the enterprise by means of the extra rate imposed on land in the province; and I submit that, under present circumstances, the best policy in the case of both trunk lines is to encourage the commencement of construction with such funds as are available, and to let the question of loans stand over until these prove inadequate.
With the departure of Mr. Haraguchi, it may be possible to urge the construction under a British engineer of a line from Hanyang to Hsiangyang as more immediately profitable than that to Ichang, and even to suggest a loan to enable this to be done.
I have, &c. (Signed) E. H. FRASER.
(Confidential.) Your Excellency,
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Consul-General Fraser to Governor Sir F. Lugard.
Hankow, May 1, 1908. IN continuation of my despatch of the 21st April, I have the honour to report that the Hupei Railway Bureau is about to sign with Mr. R. St. George Moore, M.I.C.E., an Agreement appointing him the engineer of the Wuchang-Yochou section of the Hankow-Canton Railway at a salary of 2,000l. per annum, with a personal allowance of 100 taels a-month, and the usual expenses while in the field. The term is a year and a-half with extension until the section is completed, further engagement to be the subject of negotiation when the time comes.
Mr. Moore assumes sole responsibility for the proper carrying out of the work, the inauguration of the fitting shops on the Wuchang shore of the river which Szechuan and the three provinces along the southern main line are establishing, and the laying out of a commercial settlement adjoining it with steamer landing stages and railway connections, &c. His immediate subordinate is to be a Japanese engineer, and he will, if possible, employ the Japanese engineers, four in number, and the nine mechanics (engaged under the régime of Chang Chih-tung), of whose qualifications and industry he is to be the judge.
The engineer desires no consultant, and will establish a drawing-office with staff at Hankow so as to be near the Hanyang ironworks, which are to be utilized, so far as they are capable, for the supply of material, as soon as he has inspected the trace laid down by the Japanese and Chinese up to Changsha. The past year has indeed been consumed in surveys and resurveys of this trace, but recently preparations have been made for buying the necessary land along the route, and I am assured that the funds required will be forthcoming, partly from shares sold, and partly from a credit for 4,000,000 dollars opened at the Hupei Government Bank. It is especially hoped that, once a section of the line is completed for traffic, additional share capital will be readily subscribed; but, should this hope not be justified, British capitalists have the first option of making a loan, and there is little fear that the work once actually begun will not be carried through.
Mr. T. A. Ross, in Hunan, seems to find difficulty in getting his ideas of the proper trace accepted, and no actual construction has been put in hand. I trust, however, that the news of Hupei's engagement of Mr. Moore will force Hunan to real effort in view of the terms of the 7th and 14th Inter-Provincial Construction Rules, of which translation is inclosed, and of which Mr. Hewlett, who is proceeding to Changsha as Acting Consul, will take an early opportunity of reminding the Governor.
I have great faith in the effect of Mr. Moore's becoming the engineer in Hupei, as, apart from his high professional qualifications, his tact and skill in dealing with Chinese of all classes while serving the Waterworks Company have already made him personam gratissimam to the officials connected therewith, and through them to the Hupei authorities.
The Japanese Railway Adviser, Mr. Haraguchi, will not have his Agreement, which expires shortly, renewed, chiefly, according to the Viceroy's Secretary, because he is more concerned with asserting his high rank and privileges than with performing the services required of him.
I have, &c. (Signed) E. H. FRASER.
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Page 4
Page 4
Page 5
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4
that is to say, on or before the 7th September, 1905, there shall be paid 2,000,000 and the balance on or before the 7th December, 1905, by the party of the first part at New York in American gold dollars to the party of the second part without any deduction. So soon as this sum of 6,750,000 American gold dollars, with its interest, shall have been received by the party of the second part in full from the party of the first part, the party of the second part shall thereupon be fully divested of all the demand special powers arising from all Agreements aforesaid, and any and every which, on account of the cancellation of such Agreements aforesaid, could be made on the Imperial Chinese Government. And in accordance with the above arrangement the party of the second part shall return in full to the party of the first part the property in China of the China Development Company the railroad complete, the railroad materials, plans and surveys, all special mining powers, together with all property in China of the China Development Company whatsoever, whether express or implied.
The two parties to this Agreement both are desirous that the Imperial Govern- ment of China shall take over full control of the property in China accruing to the party of the second part under each of the above referred to Agreements, but they mutually declare that until payment of the final instalment all present conditions shall continue unchanged, and the status and privileges of the party of the second part shall not on account of this Agreement be altered. They mutually declare further that the party of the second part shall, within forty days from date hereof, notify the party of the first part of the retention or delivery to the party of the first part of the 2,222,000 dollars of loan bonds of the Imperial Chinese Government already sold. Should the holder or holders of such bonds not inform the party of the second part in due time of his or their determination, the said holder or holders shall thereby be taken to have elected to retain the loan bonds, and the party of the first part shall be at liberty for every bond retained at the rate of 90 cents to the dollar to deduct from the final payment the amount thereof. The party of the first part agrees to pay on the loan houds already sold the interest from the 1st May, accrued due up to or before the 7th September, 1907, and further to pay principal and interest when due to the holders of all loan bonds retained. And it is mutually agreed that the Preliminary Agreement of the 7th June, 1905, having been recognized as valid by both parties, shall be thoroughly carried out.
On the day and year first above mentioned the party of the first part through Hukuang Viceroy Chang and Envoy Liang, in virtue of Imperial Decree, sign this Agreement in duplicate, and the party of the second part through the General Manager and Secretary of the said Company, sign this Agreement in duplicate and affix the seal of the said Company in token of good faith.
(No. 27.) Sir,
Signed by Hakuang Viceroy Chang, representing Hunan, Hupei,
and Kuangtung; by Liang.
Signed by Envoy Liang.
Signed by General Manager of China Development Company
Whittier,
Signed by Secretary Coote (F).
Witnesses:
(Signed) YING-KO-LAN.
FOSTER.
Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Consul-General Froser to Sir J. Jordan.
Hankow, May 1, 1908.
IN confirmation of my telegram No. 9 of the 29th April, I have the honour to forward
copy of a despatch which I am addressing to his Excellency the Governor of Hong Kong with its inclosure.
As regards the line hence to Szechuan, I propose to impress on his Excellency Chao, when I pay him my farewell visit, the desirability of obtaining a foreign expert of the very highest standing to locate the trace, at any rate, between Ichang and K'nei-chou Fu, which section Hupei has agreed to let Szechuan build and operate for twenty-five
5
years, as the proposals of the Chinese and Japanese engineers involve gradients of 1 in 30 and constant curves. His Excellency's Secretary is confident that there will be no difficulty in financing the enterprise by means of the extra rate imposed on land in the province; and I submit that, under present circumstances, the best policy in the case of both trunk lines is to encourage the commencement of construction with such funds as are available, and to let the question of loans stand over until these prove inadequate.
With the departure of Mr. Haraguchi, it may be possible to urge the construction under a British engineer of a line from Hanyang to Hsiangyang as more immediately profitable than that to Ichang, and even to suggest a loan to enable this to be done.
I have, &c. (Signed) E. H. FRASER.
(Confidential.) Your Excellency,
Inclosure 5 in No. 1.
Consul-General Fraser to Governor Sir F. Lugard.
Hankow, May 1, 1908. IN continuation of my despatch of the 21st April, I have the honour to report that the Hupei Railway Burcau is about to sign with Mr. R. St. George Moore, M.I.C.E., an Agreement appointing him the engineer of the Wuchang-Yochou section of the Hankow-Canton Railway at a salary of 2,000l. per annum, with a personal allowance of 100 taels a-month, and the usual expenses while in the field. The term is a year and a-half with extension until the section is completed, further engagement to be the subject of negotiation when the time comes.
Mr. Moore assumes sole responsibility for the proper carrying out of the work, the inauguration of the fitting shops on the Wuchang shore of the river which Szechuan and the three provinces along the southern main line are establishing, and the laying out of a commercial settlement adjoining it with steamer landing stages and railway connections, &c. Ifis immediate subordinate is to be a Japanesc engineer, and he will, if possible, employ the Japanese engineers, four in number, and the nine mechanics (engaged under the régime of Chang Chih-tung), of whose qualifications and industry he is to be the judge.
The engineer desires no consultant, and will establish a drawing-office with staff at Hankow so as to be near the Hanyang ironworks, which are to be utilized, so far as they are capable, for the supply of material, as soon as he has inspected the trace laid down by the Japanese and Chinese up to Changsha. The past year has indeed been consumed in surveys and resurveys of this trace, but recently preparations have been made for buying the necessary land along the route, and I am assured that the funds required will be forthcoming, partly from shares sold, and partly from a credit for 4,000,000 dollars opened at the Hupei Government Bank. It is especially hoped that, once a section of the line is completed for traffic, additional share capital will be readily subscribed; but, should this hope not be justified, British capitalists have the first option of making a loan, and there is little fear that the work once actually begun will not be carried through.
Mr. T. A. Ross, in Hunan, seems to find difficulty in getting his ideas of the proper trace accepted, and no actual construction has been put in hand. I trust, however, that the news of Hupei's engagement of Mr. Moore will force Hunan to real effort in view of the terms of the 7th and 14th Inter-Provincial Construction Rules, of which translation is inclosed, and of which Mr. Hewlett, who is proceeding to Changsha as Acting Consul, will take an early opportunity of reminding the Governor.
I have great faith in the effect of Mr. Moore's becoming the engineer in Hupei, as, apart from his high professional qualifications, his tact and skill in dealing with Chinese of all classes while serving the Waterworks Company have already made him personam gratissimam to the officials connected therewith, and through them to the Hupei authorities.
The Japanese Railway Adviser, Mr. Haraguchi, will not have his Agreement, which expires shortly, renewed, chiefly, according to the Viceroy's Secretary, because he is more concerned with asserting his high rank and privileges than with performing the services required of him.
I have, &c. (Signed) E. II. FRASER.
[1814 -2]
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