CO129-382 - Public Offices - 1911 — Page 457

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

CHINA RAILWAYS.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[5364]

(No. 33.) Sir,

No. 1.

455 8103

[February 13.]

SECTION

Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received February 13.)

Peking, January 25, 1911. WITH reference to my despatch No. 5 of the 5th instant, I have the honour to enclose the copies of correspondence which has been exchanged between the repre- sentatives of the four groups and the President of the Board of Communications, relative to the Hukuang Railway loan negotiations.

Sheng Kung-pao pleads that owing to pressure of business he will be unable to resume discussion until after the Chinese New Year commences (on the 30th January), Mr. Hillier and his colleagues, while reluctantly acquicscing in this postponement, have urged his Excellency to communicate to them in the meantime the memorandum of the proposed alterations in the agreement, in order that they may study them and be in a position to resume the negotiations without unnecessary delay.

I have, &c.

J. N. JORDAN.

Sir,

Enclosure 1 in No. 1.

Mr. Hillier to Sheng Kung-pao.

January 17, 1911.. ON the 3rd January we had the honour of an interview at the Board of Communication with his Excellency Shen Yun-p'ei, acting president of the board, and his Excellency Liang Shih-yi, director-general of railways, the object of the meeting being to discuss a memorandum embodying certain proposed verbal alterations in the initialled loan agreement of the 6th June, 1909, for the Hukuang Railways, which had been promised by the acting president at our previous meeting.

The acting president informed us on this occasion that time had not permitted of the completion of the promised memorandum, but certain leading points were submitted by his Excellency Liang, the discussion of which contributed to the creation of a satisfactory understanding, and we were finally assured by his Excellency Liang that a complete memorandum, embodying all the verbal alterations which the board had to propose, would be furnished to us in about ten days. It was further arranged that, after this memorandum had been received and considered by us, we should request the honour of another interview with the board for its discussion.

the same.

As fourteen days have now elapsed since the last meeting took place, and we are still without the promised memorandum, we have the honour to ask that your Excellency will be good enough to inform us when we may look forward to receiving We would beg to point out that the approach of the Chinese New Year makes it exceedingly desirable that we should be accorded an opportunity of discussing the memorandum with your Excellency before official business is suspended for the New Year holidays.

We have, &c.

(For the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation),

Enclosure 2 in No. 1.

E. G. HILLIER, Agent.

Sheng Kung-pao to Messrs. Hillier, Cordes, Casenave, and Straight.

(Translation.)

Peking, January 19, 1911.

IN reply to your letter, proposing an interview with the president with regard to changes to be made in respect to the Hukuang Railway business, before the closing of

[1913 n-1]