591
(Translation.)
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Inclosure 2 in No. 1.
Extract from the " Yang Cheng Pao" of March 2, 1909.
(Text of telegram from Chang Chih Tung to Taotai Tong Ping Yen.)
The Director-General in Peking to the Resident Director in Canton.
YOUR two telegrams. Although successive reports on the affairs of the Canton-Hankow Railway have been submitted by the general manager, Sir Chih Chen Liang Cheng, no complete detailed report has so far been furnished. The duties and responsibilities of the resident director in Canton are identical with those of the general manager. You should therefore consult with Liang and act in unison with him, in supplying the following particulars :-
1. Furnishing the complete dossier of all documents and accounts of the railway company since the redemptiou of the concession.
2. A report showing the completed portion of the line at the time of the redemption, the portion since completed or under construction, the portion already surveyed but not yet under construction, and the portion of which the trace has already been decided but which has not yet been surveyed, giving the exact length
of each.
In addition a register and plans of all lands and rolling-stock, together with a complete list of the staff of employés.
3. A report showing the amounts collected or still outstanding of the first and second calls upon the shares with a list of shareholders, the sum required for construction and for the company's annual expenditure, together with a balance sheet showing the balance in hand. In addition à detailed account showing all sums placed out at interest.
4. An account of the receipts from the sale of tickets and freight charges on the working portion of the line, giving full details of revenue and expenditure under this bead.
You should, in obedience to these instructions, establish yourself in an office and start work immediately, submitting your report at an early date.
I have received the Imperial commands to act as director-general of the railway, and my responsibility is a heavy one. The Imperial rescript is of a most stringent nature. The guiding principle to be observed is the advancement of the interests of the railway and the eradication of all abuses. It is incumbent upon me to consider the question in all its aspects in order that I may be in a position to render the capital invested secure, to prevent waste, and to inspire the public confidence.
You must make my intentions known to the general manager and his co-directors, and have them published for the information of shareholders.
Make an estimate of the expenses of your office and submit it to me before taking any action.
Submit a copy of this telegram to Viceroy Chang and supply the railway company with another.
CHANG, Director-General.
Text of Sir Chentung Liang Cheng's reply to Taotai Wong Ping Yen's letter, enclosing Chong Chili Tung's telegram.
YOUR letter just received and its important contents noted. I will, of course, act as directed. I have, in accordance with your request, handed your letter to the board of directors for communication to the shareholders, and will communicate their reply later.
I propose to go to Whampoa to-morrow on ten days' leave, returning on the 9th or 10th instant.
The shareholders are scattered in all directions, and it is impossible for these living at a distance to attend at a short notice. It had been arranged to circulate the
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annual statement on the 29th instant, and it might be convenient to circulate the telegram at the same time, and ascertain the shareholders' views.
The resumption of control over the railway by the mercantile body has received Imperial sanction, and it would not do for me, a mere stopgap acting as general manager, to assume sole responsibility in such a matter. In any case the details of management, the annual accounts and the staff of employés, have all formed the subject of periodical reports to the director-general, and are in addition published in the weekly newspapers for the information of the public.
With regard to your request that I should arrange a time and place for a consultation, I should prefer to wait until after the annual statement has been circulated on the 20th instant. Do you agree ?
Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
Extract from the "Hong Kong Daily Press " of March 10, 1909.
CANTON HANKOW BAILWAY,
The Question of Official Control.
THE nine charitable institutions, the Canton General Chamber of Commerce, and the seventy-two trades' guilds, have telegraphed the following petition to his Excellency Chang Chih Tung, chief superintendent of the Canton-Hankow Railway of the three provinces :--
Your Excellency has delegated Taotai Wong Ping Yen to superintend the construction of the Kwongtung section of the Canton-Ilankow Railway, and to reside permanently in Canton. Some time ago we received a cablegram from your Excellency stating that your main object and desire is that the president of the Cauton section of the railway will use his influence to protect the interests of the railway company, and that he will be held responsible for a proper exercise of his discretion in employing men to deal with the financial affairs of the company. Your Excellency cannot be aware of the innumerable troubles and difficulties in regard to the construction of the railway in this province which we are now compelled to explain fully to you. When the railway was redeemned from the American Develop- ment Company it was agreed that the gentry and the merchants were to construct it. This was entirely due to your efforts, and we are extremely grateful to you for your kindness. We undertook the responsibility of constructing the Kwangtung section of the railway, and consequently an Imperial edict was issued sanctioning this arrangement. The terms and conditions for this section are quite different from those of Hupeh and Hunan. After the edict was issued the different charitable institutions started to collect the call due on the first instalment of the shares, on condition that if the merchants either proved incapable of constructing the railway themselves or if they should fail to construct the railway, they (the charitable 'institutions) would refund the moneys paid to the company by the shareholders. These conditions were embodied in a memorial to the throne and officially recorded in Peking. The dissatisfaction formerly created over the construction of this railway was mainly due to the officials having a hand in the management of affairs. Now your Excellency has authorised the establishment of a Government bureau to superintend the construction of the railway, it will be extremely difficult to allay the suspicions of the public, and we fear we shall not be able to collect the third instalment of the shares. Moreover, there are many shareholders who seize this as a pretext for demanding the return of their money, and trouble may therefore ensue.
The people will, moreover, lose confidence in the charitable institutions, who All this is cannot take the responsibility of refunding such a huge sum of money. contrary to what has been agreed upon between the merchants and the Government. This section is the most important part of the Canton-Hankow Railway. Both Chinese and foreigners have had their attention drawn to this matter. Now that it is in full operation à change is detrimental, and the people cannot consent to a change. Besides telegraphing this to your Excellency, the seventy-two guilds and the charitable institutions have held a meeting and addressed a petition to the Viceroy of Canton bearing the chops of all the signatorios. With regard to the management of the company it is difficult to please everybody. If there is a dishonest servant in
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