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that although the name of his firm had been upon the Prospectus asking for the necessary funds to build the railway, the business had now been withdrawn from them, and entrusted to a Chinaman, and that he must therefore warn the bondholders of the change of situation. This, however, was a personal rather than a public point. The public question was much more awkward; the Colony of Hong Kong is spending very large sums on making the Hong Kong-Kowloon Railway, which is nothing in itself, but is only important as forming part of a through route from Hong Kong to Canton. It has apparently been assumed that no evil can befall the Canton-Kowloon part of this through route, but as matters stand, Sir John fears that the money which has been raised for the construction of the Canton-Kowloon section would be frittered away before the railway is completed, and that with shattered credit in consequence of the action of the Chinese it may be very difficult to get the line completed; or, alternatively, the line will be ill-constructed, and will not be anything like the proportions we were led to assume it would be made at the time the funds of Hong Kong were embarked upon the Colonial portion of the railway.
I pointed out to Sir John Wolfe Barry that the Chinese Government had guaranteed the interest on the Canton-Kowloon section, and that that in itself gave some security; he agreed that it was good pro tanto, but suggested that there was no period within which the
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that although the name of his firm had been upon the Prospectus asking for the necessary funds to build the railway, the business had now been withdrawn from them, and entrusted to a Chinaman, and that he must therefore warn the bondholders of the change of situation. This, however, was a personal rather than a public point. The public question was much more awkward; the Colony of Hong Kong is spending very large sums on making the Hong Kong-Kowloon Railway, which is nothing in itself, but is only important as forming part of a through route from Hong Kong to Canton. It has apparently been assumed that no evil can befal the Canton-Kowloon part of this through route, but as matters stand, Sir John fears that the money which has been raised for the construction of the Canton-Kowloon section would be frittered away before the railway is completed, and that with shattered credit in consequence of the action of the Chinese it may be very difficult to get the line completed; or, alternatively, the line will be ill-constructed, and will not be anything like the pro- portions we were led to assume it would be made at the time the funds of Hong Kong were embarked upon the Colonial portion of the railway.
I pointed out to Sir John Wolfe Barry that the
Chinese Government had guaranteed the interest on the
Canton-Kowloon section, and that that in itself gave
some security; he agreed that it was good pro tanto, but suggested that there was no period within which
the
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