CO129-512-5 Boxer Indemnity Settlement 21-5-1929 - 21-5-1929 — Page 102

2.

98

regards D. Chinese objections seemed to centre on the

fear that the purchase of Chinese material would be

excluded and we eventually reached agreement by making

it plain that clause only referred to materials pur-

chased abroad and that it was subject to terms of

existing contracts. Another point in Chinese draft

to which, in view of your telegram No. 7 to Hankow and

your telegram No. 18 to Nanking I did not feel justified

in raising objection, was that clause regarding purchase

of British material only applied directly to re-condition

ing of existing lines and not to new construction (see

last paragraph of note A.)

As regards subsidiary notes,regarding grants to

Hongkong University China committee under which

Minister for Foreign Affairs had included in his draft

the proposal for an additional grant of £15,000 to pay

debts to Hongkong University as coming from me and

objected absolutely to it coming from Chinese side,

after much discussion he proposed to drop the question

of this additional grant altogether but I demurred

seeing that it had been raised and discussed with

Hongkong and at length we agreed to incorporate it in

separate exchange of letters not forming part of and

not to be published with indemnity settlement.

My following telegramn gives texts of the whole

series of notes etc. As agreed upon between Minister

for Foreign Affairs and myself ad referendum to our

respective governments texts are approved.

I

I trust that having got Chinese up to this point it will not be necessary to make any alterations. request earliest possible instructions.

Addressed to Foreign Office No. 98; repeated to Peking and Hongkong.