CO129-366 - Governor Sir Lugard Acting Governor May - 1910 [4-5] — Page 53

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foreign control of Chinese lines, and would conse- quently be very slow to give assent to a proposal which, as Sir F.Lugard says, would give Hong Kong an additional claim in respect of the management of the whole line; the Government of Hong Kong is hardly in a sufficiently strong financial position to lend this sum. The receipts from the Wuchang loan are being used to finance the building of the British section

of the Railway, so that they are not available. The

Colony has had to ask for financial assistance from

His Majesty's Government, in consequence of the Opium

policy and I think it would create a most unfavourable

impression on the Treasury mind to find the Government

proposing to lend money to China. The Wichang Loan

was an experiment which up to now has been success- ful: I doubt the advisability of attempting to

repeat it at a time when China for the Chinese is

becoming more and more the cry. In any case the

offer would probably only lead to a snub from the

Chinese Government who would be sure to refuse it.

I would telegraph.

·

? Draft approved generally, and confirm by despatch raising this point, write as above with regard to the $40,000,explain as to the preliminary agreement papers (referring Officer Administering the Government to Eastern 88) and say we are consulting

Foreign Office as to the assistence of His Britannic

Majesty's Minister.

?

Copy all three despatches to Foreign Office

writing