[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Governmen
[B]
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
305
20480
RECR
Rece 25 AUG 09,
[August 7.]
SECTION 1.
[29723]
(No. 128.) Sir,
No. 1.
Sir Edward Grey to Mr. Rumbold.
Foreign Office, August 7, 1909. THE Japanese Ambassador read to me on the 4th instant the following note, and left it with me :----
(Confidential.)
"During the late war Japan built for military purposes a light railway between An-tung Sien and Mukden, The line was hastily and necessarily imperfectly constructed, and was wholly unsuited and insufficient for ordinary commercial purposes. Rut, when the South Manchurian line passed into the hands of the Imperial Govern- ment, necessity for a connecting link between that line and the Corean system became apparent. Accordingly, by article 6 of the arrangement complementary to the Treaty of Peking of 1905, it was agreed that Japan not only had right to maintain military line in question, but so to improve it as to make it fit for the conveyance of commercial and industrial goods of all nations, or, in other words, to convert purely military line into a commercial railway. Objections of China to the fulfilment of treaty stipulations above mentioned, on what must be regarded as frivolous and inconse- quential grounds, make it compulsory for Japan to take an independent action in the matter. To explain the situation which calls for such action, the existing An-tung Sien Mukden military railway has the total length of 188 railes, and a gauge of 2 ft. 6 in. To avoid the construction of tunnels and bridges, for which there was no time, the line was given many wide détours and steep gradient and short and sharp curves. In consequence of these defects there are naturally frequent damages by derailments. Hauling capacity of engines is necessarily very small. Three or four small passenger or freight cars constitute a maximum train, and on some portions of the line where the grades are steep trains have to be divided into two or three separate hauls. Speed capacity of engines is also necessarily very low. Travel on the line by night is impracticable. Transit between An-tung Sien and Mukden require two full days. It was in order to provide for removal of these imperfections and to make road not only available, but also efficient for the commercial requirement to which it was to be devoted after it had ceased to be necessary for military purposes, that the improve- ment stipulation was inserted in the Complementary Arrangement of 1905. By opening of the An-tung Sien Mukden and Fusan line, another route will be established for intercontinental intercourse between Europe on the one hand and Japan and the Far East generally on the other. The route will have advantage of reducing sea- voyage to ten hours. But in order to make route effective and useful, it is necessary that it shall have the same gauge and efficiency as the Corean and the South Manchurian railway system, of which the route under consideration will be a connecting link. The improvements which are absolutely essential include boring of tunnels, building of bridges, straightening and grading of the line, and the changing of gauge to the standard used in the connecting Corean and South Manchurian systems. With these improvements the distance will be shortened, time and transit between An-tung Sier and Mukden reduced from two full days to eight or nine hours, and the general efficiency of the line will be established. Without them the railway will remain as at present, entirely useless for commercial purposes. Accordingly informal negotiations were at the outset carried on with China with a view to make Au-tung Sien and Mukden railway available as speedily as possible as a connecting link between the Corean and the South Manchurian systems in the great intercontinental trunk line. But this method of procedure having proved abortive, the Imperial Government in January last officially proposed to China that com- missioners be dispatched to survey the line. This proposal having been agreed to, Japanese and Chinese commissioners made and agreed upon a joint survey of the proposed route, with the exception of a small section some 20 miles in length between Mukden and Chenh-Siang-Tun. This work was completed early in April last, and
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