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On the 26th Mr. Wei Han, in forwarding to Mr. Grove translation of a despatch from the Acting Viceroy, mentioned that a force of soldiers had left Canton on the 22nd instant, and on the 27th instant Mr. Grove received a telegram from Mr. Boothby, district engineer-in-charge of section 2, reporting the arrival at Shektan of 100 soldiers.
Mr. Wei Han informed me yesterday that he has every hope that this display of force will have the desired effect in overawing the unruly villagers, and that construction work will now proceed without further interruption.
With Mr. Grove's permission, I have the honour to forward, as Inclosure No. 4, for your confidential information, an extract from his quarterly report referring to the manner in which the accounts are rendered by the chief accountant, Mr. Butler Wright.
This gentleman has lately, by his unseemly conduct both here and in Hong Kong, in particular by his frequentation of gambling-houses in Canton city, forfeited the friendship and respect of a large portion of the foreign community in Canton, and I venture to think the British and Chinese Corporation would under the circumstances be well advised to have Mr. Butler Wright's accounts audited at the earliest possible opportunity.
I have, &c.
Dear Sir,
Inclosure 2 in No. 1.
Mr. Grove to Wei Han.
HARRY H. FOX.
July 21, 1909.
IN continuation of my letter dated the 20th July, 1909, with which I enclosed copy of a letter from Mr. Boothby dated the 15th July, in which he described the condition of affairs at Shektan and Shekha, and mentioned the fact that the deputy specially appointed by the Viceroy in the beginning of June was powerless to remove certain buildings and obtain the right of entry on land which has been so urgently required for over nine months, I now beg to forward a copy of a telegram dated the 20th July. From this it is apparent that troops have not been sent to these places, neither has the magistrate given such assistance as he was instructed to give by the Viceroy.
May I ask that you will kindly ascertain from the Viceroy the reason for the delay in the arrival of the troops and the inadequate assistance given to the Viceroy's deputies by the Tsang Shing magistrate.
I shall be glad of the favour of a reply as soon as possible.
Dear Sir,
Yours faithfully,
FRANK GROVE.,
Inclosure 3 in No. 1.
Wei Han to Mr. Grove,
July 26, 1909.
I AM in receipt of a despatch from his Excellency the Acting Viceroy Wu, of Canton, which is stated as follows:-
"On the 12th instant I received a despatch from the Board of Posts and Communications. It is stated in this despatch that, owing to the obstructions caused to the purchase of land for the Cunton-Kowloon Railway, the completion of the construction of the line would be delayed at least for six months, and the expenses for the construction would be increased by 500,000 dollars, and that it is an essential factor in the purchase of land for railway purposes that it be acquired at such a time that no delay to the constructional work is caused, and that he (the President of the Board of Posts and Communications) is informed that considerable obstructions are being raised against the land purchase for this Canton--Kowloon Railway by the villagers; therefore some delay must have been caused to the construction, and that as the foreign officer (the engineer-in-chief) has declared that not only will the expenses for the construction be increased should any delay be caused in the land purchase, but it is impossible to allow the villagers to continually raise persecutions against the
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railway, and that besides giving instructions to the Managing-Director Wei to give instructions to the land wei yuans, it is a matter of duty that he should send me this despatch asking me to give stringent instructions to all the district magistrates concerned that they should act with earnestness to give efficient support to the protection of the railway, and that they should give instructions to the gentry and elders of the various villages in proximity to the line that they should not cause any obstruction to the railway.
With regard to the band purchase of this Canton-Kowloon Railway, I (Acting Viceroy) understand that a felegram regarding the delay caused in the land purchase at Sheklung through the dilatoriness on the part of the owners, who expect to have a better rate, has lately been received from that board, and it will be remembered that, upon receipt of this telegram, you have been requested by letter to give me all the particulars of the land purchase, and that the district magistrate of Tung Kun has been instructed to act with carnestness to give adequate support to the protection of the railway, and that they should not allow the villagers to raise unnecessary difficulties against the railway,
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Now, besides giving intructions to the district magistrates of Pan Yu, Tung Kun, Tsang Shing, Sun On, &c., to act in conformity with the instructions of the board, that they should act with earnestness to give efficient support to the protec tion of the railway, and that they should at the same time give notice to the land- owners to make and hand over the sale deeds of all their lands required by this railway, and to accept the statutory rates of this railway for their lands; and that they must not make any frivolous demands which might cause trouble or impediment to the railway work, and they should also at once give stringent instructions to the villages in proximity to the railway that they should not cause any trouble to the railway, as it will make them liable to be punished.
"I now feel that it is incumbent on me to write this to you with the hope that you will kindly give instructions to the various land wei yuans to make immediate purchase of all the lands required, so as no impediment will be caused to the construction."
On receipt of this letter I beg to write this to you for your information and guidance.
Very truly yours,
WEI HAN,
P.S.-Your letter No. 2749 and your letter No. 2754 have been duly received and contents noted. I understand that the force of troops dispatched by Admiral Li, with the instructions that they should station at the various important points of places, left Canton for the places, Shektan, &c., on the 22nd instant.
With regard to the removal of the houses, I had already dispatched a wei yuan for the district of Tsang Shing, with the instructions that he should act in con- junction with the district magistrate of Tsang Shing to have all the houses removed before the 11th day of the 6th moon of this year (27th instant). This wei yuan had personally reported to me yesterday that they had acted in con- formity with my instructions, and it is expected that all the matters would be settled within those few days, so that the constructional work can be started without hindrance.
W. H.
Inclosure 4 in No. 1.
Report by Mr. Grove on the Canton--Kowloon Railway (Chinese section) for April, May, and June 1909.
· (Extract.)
Accounts.--The detail rendering of construction account which, as I indicated in my last report, was placed by the chief accountant in the hands of Mr. Power, assistant accountant, upon his joining our staff in March, is now reaching an advanced stage, and figures are being prepared forming a general statement of expenditure against estimate up to the 30th June, thereafter such statement being prepared monthly for the information of myself and district engineers. This first completed statement will, I understand, be ready early in August, and will probably embody June's home expenditure. While I have not myself been handed figures of
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