[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty & Governanth
Mec?
(AFFAIRS OF CHINA.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[40080]
No. 1.
Roof 23 NOV 09 [November 1.]
89
SECTION 1.
(No. 376.) Sir,
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received November 1.)
Peking, October 13, 1909. WITH reference to your despatch No. 255 of the 28th ultimo, I have the honour to transmit to you herewith copy of a further despatch from His Majesty's Consul at Newchwang on the subject of the conservancy of the Liao River.
The concurrence of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in the proposal that foreign shipping should bear a share in the cost of the work is as unexpected as it is satisfactory. It remains to be seen what reception the Chinese authorities will give to the suggestion of foreign control consequent upon foreign contribution. Although this suggestion is no more likely to prove palatable to them than it did in the case of the Whangpoo, yet I have hope that some sort of scheme will be the outcome of the local negotiations. It would not, in my opinion, be advisable to place the matter before the Central Government at the present moment, when the larger question of a similar kind at Shanghae is still under consideration, and will require some little time and considerable pressure on the part of the foreign representatives if a satisfactory solution is to be reached. But by the time the local negotiations have been completed, the situation here may be different, and the diplomatic body be in a better position to press the question of the Liao River.
I have, &c.
J. N. JORDAN.
Inclosure in No. 1.
(No. 16.) Sir,
Consul Wilkinson to Sir J. Jordan.
Newchwang, September 28, 1909. IN continuation of my despatch of the 17th instant I have the honour to enclose herewith a copy of a letter addressed by the Newchwang Chamber of Commerce to the senior consul at this port, giving the views of the Chamber on the taotai's proposal that the trade of the port should be taxed to provide funds for the further measures recommended by Mr. Hughes for the conservancy of the Liao River.*
In this letter the Chamber, assuming that it will be impossible to induce either the Central or the Provincial Government to defray the entire cost of the proposed works, expressos itself in favour of the imposition for a period of not more than ten years: firstly, of a tax not exceeding 1 per mille on the value of the exports and imports of the port; secondly, of a tax not exceeding 2 candareens per ton on the registered tonnage of all vessels, both native and foreign, visiting the port, the revenue from which taxes shall be entirely devoted to the cost of carrying out and maintaining, under the superintendence of the Imperial Maritime Customs, the following three distinct works, which are to be embodied in one comprehensive scheme, namely:---
1. The improvement of the navigation of the entire channel of the line between Tung Chiang Tzu and Newchwang.
2. The protection of Newchwang from the danger of the river breaking through the narrow neck of land between Duck Island Channel and the harbour.
3. The deepening of the bar at the mouth of the river.
The Chamber, however, makes its approval conditional on the work being carried out under approved expert direction: that is, that of a qualified foreign engineer, on the consular body being granted the right to scrutinise the accounts at any time, and, lastly, on the Central or Provincial Government making up the deficiency, which will be a considerable one, between the amount yielded by the taxes and the total cost of
* Not printed.
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