CO129-372 - Public Offices - 1910 — Page 425

This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]

CHINA RAILWAYS.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[25618]

No. 1.

422

[July 15.]

SECTION 1

C 23223

Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank to Foreign Office.-(Received July 15 RECO

REGE 28 JUL 10 Dear Mr. Greg,

31, Lombard Street, London, July 14, 1910. IT may interest you to see the enclosed memorandum, which has been handed to their respective Ministers by the representatives of the four groups in Peking.

Pray do not trouble to acknowledge this.

Enclosure 1 in No. 1.

Yours truly,

C. S. ADDIS.

Mr. E. G. Hillier to Mr. C. S. Addis.

(Extract.).

Peking, June 27, 1910. Fukuang Railway.-Thanks for the copies of the minutes and other documents relating to the Paris meeting. After first deciding to draft the identic note to the Chinese Government themselves the Governments appear to have changed their minds, and the British, French, and German representatives have been instructed to draft the note here, which I think is much more practical. The American Minister is still awaiting his instructions in this sense, but Mr. Max Müller tells me this morning that the American Ambassador informs the Foreign Office that instructions will be sent immediately, so I hope it will not be long now before all four representatives are in a position to act. In the meantime, and in order to assist the diplomatic representatives in their work, the representatives here of the four financial groups have drafted the memorandum of which a copy is enclosed herewith, setting forth the bare facts as they come within their knowledge, and have handed the same to their respective Ministers. It really furnishes all the material necessary for the identic note, and I hope there will be no excuse for further delay in testing the intentions of the Chinese Government. Of its real attitude there can be no doubt; the Government is in favour of constructing the railways as quickly as possible, and with foreign capital, since they know very well that native capital cannot be raised. The question is merely one of policy towards the provincial agitators, and of the firmness or weakness of the central Government, the agitators being actuated by the strongest of all human motives in this country, the desire to handle the money and line their own pockets.

Enclosure 2 in No. 1.

Memorandum.

ON the 6th June, 1909, the representatives of the British, French, and German banks concluded an agreement for a loan of 5,500,000l. for the construction of the Hupei-Hunan section of the Hankow-Canton Railway and of the Hupei section of the Hankow-Szechuan Railway with his Excellency the Grand Secretary, Chang Chih-tung, duly invested by Imperial edict with full powers to act on behalf of the Imperial Chinese Government. The text of this agreement was initialled by the contracting parties as final and binding, subject to sanction by Imperial edict. The banks were at the same time informed that the necessary memorial would be prepared without delay, and that the Imperial sanction might be looked for in ten days.

2. While awaiting the communication of the Imperial sauction, the British, French, and German banks were informed that the American Government had reminded the Imperial Chinese Government of prior engagements constituting a claim to participation in the loan, and the banks were requested by the Wai-wu Pu to arrange for the admission to the agreement of an American group. Subsequent

[2813p-1]