CO129-361 - Public Offices - 1909 — Page 97

4

Inclosure 3 in No. 1.

LIST of Guns in possession of Foreign Contingents in Peking, North China, 1908.

This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Coverument,

CHINA RAILWAYS.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[10104]

C.0.

12734

[March 16.]

Rece Reg 14 APR 0

SECTION 2.

No. 1.

95

May.

December.

Nationality.

No.

Pattern.

No.

Pattern.

2 Mountain, 80-mm.

Remarks.

American

2

2-95-in. Vickers-Maxim

2 Naval field, 3-in.

mountain

3-in, naval field

2

Vickers-Maxim, 2-95-in,

*

Gatling, cal. 30

2

Gatling, cal. 80

4

Colt's automatic, cal. 30

4

Colt's automatic, cal. 80

Austrian

4* 66-a. Skoda Q.P.

4* Skoda Q.F., 66-mm.

* Naval guns.

3* 70-mini. Uchatius

3* Uchatius. 70-mm.

6 8-mm. Skoda machine,

6 Skoda machine

Belgian British

Nil

Nil

2

B.L. 5-in, howitzers

2

B.L. howitzers, 5-in.

2

Q.F. 12-pr., 12 cwt.

6

Maxima, 303-in.

6

Maxims, 803-in.

French

237-mm. Q.F.........

2

80-mm, mountain

German

6

7-9-mm. machine

6

Machine, 7-9-mm.

3

77-mm. field..

3

Field, 77-mm.

3 15-cm. bowitzers

$

Italian

41 75-mm. Krupp

4

B.L., 3-in.

સ

37-mm. Hotchkiss

2

2 10-mm. Gardner machine

3

3

10-ram, Montigny

3

37-mm. (1-44-in.)

Japanese Netherlands

4 57-mm. Krupp Q.F.

4

57-mm. Krupp Q.F.

2

8-75-cm. Q.1.

275-mm. field..

Field, 75-mm. (2-95-in.)

Russian

275-mm. Krupy

3

87-mm. Hotelikiss

3 87-mm. Hotchkiss

1

41-mm. Hotchkiss

1

11-mm. Hotchkiss

Totals

75

71

Howitzers, 15-cm.

Gardner

Christaple Montigny

QF., 3.75-cm. (1-47-in.)

75-mm. Krupp

2 field guns and 3 bowitzers

damaged in fire at Peking on August 2, 1908.

† With 4 spare limbers aud

4 spare carriages.

Sir,

Messrs. Pauling and Co. to Foreign Office.-(Received March 16.)

26, Victoria Street, Westminster, London, March 15, 1909.

WE beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter under date of the 11th instant, stating that, as regards the Canton-Hankow Railway, a special arrangement was made with the knowledge and under the auspices of His Majesty's Government and the French Government between the British and Chinese Corporation and a French Syndicate.

Our letter of the 10th instant, to which the foregoing is a reply, was written on the strength of a statement made to us by our Paris friends to the effect that the French Government, with whom they are in touch, had notified the Banque de l'Indo- Chine that no Chinese loan would be approved unless coupled with a contract on the terms of the arrangements made by us with the French and Belgian groups and referred to by our Chairman, Baron E. B. d'Erlanger, on the occasion of a recent call at the Foreign Office.

We now beg to inclose, for your information, copy of the letter which was addressed to the Chairman of our Company by Count Vitalis, the President of the Régie Générale de Chemins de Fer. Now that the French Government are no longer desirous of supporting the special arrangement referred to in your letter of the 11th instant, and which was given by you as the reason why it would not be possible for His Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to give instructions to Sir John Jordan to support our agent, Lord ffrench, in making his substantive offer for the Canton-Hankow loan (as a British offer), we again most respectfully beg to ask that instructions be sent to Sir John Jordan to support us.

We are, &c. Pauling and Co. (Limited),

JNO. SCOTT, Secretary.

(Signed)

Inclosure in No. 1.

0

Mon cher Baron,

Count Vitalis to Baron E. d'Erlanger.

Paris, le 8 mars, 1909. JE m'empresse de vous informer que je viens d'assister dans le Cabinet de M. Caillaux, Ministre des Finances, à une conversation très importante entre le Ministre et M. Simon, Directeur de la Banque de l'Indo-Chine, au sujet des chemins de fer en Chine.

Le Ministre a déclaré, de la façon la plus précise et la plus formelle, qu'il ne donnerait son appui, en tant que Ministre des Finances, à un emprunt de chemins de fer en Chine, que si à cet emprunt était joint, sous une forme appropriée, un contrat de construction et de fourniture de matériel, pour l'industrie française.

Vous voyez, mon cher Baron, que la déclaration très précise de notre Ministre des Finances condamme la formulé Canton-Kowloon aussi bien que la formule Pookoo-Tien-tsin.

Veuillez, &c.

(Signé) GEORGES VITALIS.

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