2
The Grand Secretary said that the outlay was a relatively small sum, and that it could perhaps he tacked on to the railway loan which his Excellency Chang Chih- tung was proposing to raise.
Yesterday I reverted to the subject in an interview with with Yuan Shih-k'ai. His Excellency informed me that they had telegraphed to the Viceroy to ascertain his views on the proposal. Two years ago the Viceroy had reported that he had a sum of 2,000,000 taels (250,0007.) available for railway construction, but no work had yet apparently been undertaken, and they were anxious to know how matters now stood.
I am sending a copy of this despatch to the Government of India.
I have, &c.
(Signed) J. N. JORDAN,
This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[43317]
No. 1.
27
C.O.
[December 12.1
1188
SECTION
11 JAN 09
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received December 12.)
(No. 469.) Sir,
Peking, October 24, 1908. WITH reference to my despatch No. 365 of the 17th August, I have the honour to inclose copies of further correspondence relating to the Shanghae-Hangchow-Ningpo Railway.
I made an appointment with his Excellency Liang Shih-yi, as soon as the letter of the 14th October from Jardine, Matheson and Co., the Shanghae agents of the British and Chinese Corporation, reached me, and on the 21st October I called at the Board of Communications, and placed before him the facts as stated,
His Excellency declined to admit that the Managing Director appointed by the Board, Taotai Shih Chao-tseng, was the cypher described by Jardine, Matheson, and Co., and said that, so far as his information went, Mr. Foord's agreement was signed, one of his authorities for this being Mr. Bland himself. Questions regarding the respective duties and responsibilities of the Managing Director and the Engineer-in-Chief had been raised by the Provincial Railway Companies, but the Board had insisted that both these gentlemen must fulfil their functions under the Loan Agreement, and this course would be followed. Only two days previously, an expert delegate of the Board, a Chinese graduate who had completed his engineering studies in America, had been specially appointed to examine the construction work already accomplished, which is referred to in Article 2 of the Loan Agreement and which the Board understood was defective, and, as soon as this delegate reported, progress would be made.
Ilis Excellency also produced an official register showing that 50,000 taels had the previous day (20th October) been handed over to the Managing Director, out of the loan funds, to meet survey expenses.
I was unable to treat his Excellency's statements as a serious explanation of the delay that had taken place. The Loan Agreement had been signed in March, the loan itself had been issued at the end of May, and, up to the present, no practical step towards the construction of the railway had taken place, owing to the attitude of the Provincial Companies. The appointment of a special delegate to inspect helped in no way to fulfil the obligations of the Loan Agreement. What was obvious was that 1,500,000% had been lying idle for nearly five months, and an Engineer-in-Chief, who had arrived at Shanghae over two months before, was not allowed to enter upon
his duties, and such a situation was incapable of any rational defence. I recalled the warnings I had given to his Excellency previously on this subject, and regretted that, as these appeared to bave had little or no effect, I must carry the matter further and invoke the assistance of the Wai-wu Pa.
On the 22nd October, I wrote the note to Prince Ching, copy of which is inclosed,* and next day I made strong representations in the same sense to his Excellency Yuan Shih-k'ai, in person, at the Wai-wu Pu.
I pointed out that the Loan Agreement of the 6th March, the conclusion of which, in the teeth of provincial opposition, was mainly due to his Excellency's just sense of the binding force of Imperial engagements, was being, in effect, ignored by the Provincial Railway Boards, and I dwelt on the injurious impression which such treat- ment of an important covenant would produce in foreign financial markets if it became widely known.
His Excellency had read my note of the previous day, and said he would see that the necessary steps were taken in the matter. The Loan Agreement having received Imperial sanction, its terms must, of course, be faithfully carried out, and a communication would be made at once to the Board of Communications on the subject.
It will be noticed that, in the British and Chinese Corporation's letter of the 11th August inclosed in my despatch No. 365 to you, it was stated that an Agreement
* Not printed.
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