[B]
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.] 251
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
C
O
19141
[June 6.]
SHOTION 23 JUN 10,
[20105]
No. 1.
Mr. Max Müller to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received June 6.)
(No. 155.) Sir,
Peking, May 16, 1910. WITH reference to Sir John Jordan's despatch No. 452 of the 14th October, 1908, I have the honour to transmit to you herewith copy of a despatch from His Majesty's consul at Newchwang reporting that the Manchurian authorities have decided to commence making a commercial port at Hulutao, a bay situated approximately in longitude 118° 40' east and latitude 40° 45′ north, which is to be the sea terminus of the proposed Chinchow-Aigun Railway. Hulutao lies only a few miles east of Lien Shan on the line of the Imperial Northern Railway, and a short connecting line will, it is said, be built between these two places.
As the work is to be entrusted to Mr. Hughes, it is to be feared that the project will interfere with the progress of the scheme for the conservancy of the Liao River, as to which I regret to see from Mr. Wilkinson's despatch that the negotiations with regard to the provision of the sum of 200,000 dollars by the provincial authorities have made no advance.
Enclosure in No. 1.
I have, &c.
W. G. MAX MÜLLER.
Consul Wilkinson to Mr. Max Müller.
(No. 14.) Sir,
Newchwang, May 7, 1910. I WAS informed this morning by Mr. Hughes, the consulting engineer to the Moukden Government, that it has been decided by the provincial authorities to commence at once the work of making a commercial harbour at Hulutao. The work is to be carried out in accordance with the plan which he submitted to the Viceroy last year, and is, as far as he can understand, to be under his sole supervision.
In my intelligence report for March quarter I mentioned that the authorities were not entirely satisfied with the harbour scheme originally drawn up by Mr. Hughes, which, in their opinion, was not of sufficiently ambitious a nature. Under this scheme accommodation is to be provided, at an estimated cost of 415,000l., for fifteen large steamers within an area five times the size of the harbour at Dairen, enclosed by a pier 100 feet broad and 13,000 feet in length. The authorities, on the other hand, wanted the pier to be 400 feet across, and to enclose an area large enough to accommodate thirty steamers, and they were also anxious that a dock should be thrown in, their idea, no doubt, being to make the place a naval as well as a commercial harbour.
Mr. Hughes has, however, been able to persuade the authorities that the additions. desired by them, which would raise the cost of the work to 1,000,0001, are unnecessary, since the accommodation furnished will be amply sufficient for all the possible require- ments of the port, and it appears to have been finally decided not to alter his plans, but to let him carry them out himself as soon as his services at Shuang Tai Tzu, where the dam is now in course of construction, can be spared. funds are to be provided by the American syndicate represented by Mr. Straight, which, it is stated, has already placed the sum of 1,000,000 taels at the disposal of the Viceroy.
The necessary
If Mr. Hughes's services are to be utilised for the work at Hulutao, I am afraid that the difficulty of carrying through our conservancy scheme at this port will be considerably increased, since it will be scarcely possible for him to undertake the two works simultaneously. The conservancy scheme, I may mention, has made no progress
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