American Embassy,
London, November 26,
1909.
No. 1089.]
[Inclosure.]
The Minister of Foreign
Affairs to Ambassador Reid.
Foreign Office,
London, November 25,
1909.
Your Excellency: I have the honor to
acknowledge the receipt of your excellency’s note of the 9th
instant, making certain proposals with a view to preserving the
undisturbed enjoyment by China of all political rights in Manchuria
and to promoting the development of the Province under a practical
application of the policy of the open door and equal commercial
opportunity. The first of the proposals made by your excellency is
to the effect that the Manchurian highways and the railroad should
be brought under an economic and scientific and impartial
administration by some plan vesting in China the ownership of the
railroads through funds furnished for the purpose by the interested
powers willing to participate, and you add that the execution of
such a plan would require the cooperation of China and of Japan and
Russia, as well as of the United States and Great Britain, whose
special interests rest upon the existing contract relative to the
Chinchow-Aigun Railroad. Your excellency goes on to say that should
the above suggestion not be found feasible in its entirety, the
desired end would be approximated, if not attained, by Great Britain
and the United States diplomatically supporting the Chinchow-Aigun
arrangement and inviting interested powers, friendly to the complete
commercial neutrality of Manchuria, to participate in the financing
and construction of that line, and of such additional lines as
future commercial development may demand, and at the same time to
supply funds for the purchase by China of such of the existing lines
as might be offered for inclusion in this system. The general
principle involved in the first of your excellency’s two suggestions
entirely commends itself to His Majesty’s Government, so far as the
preservation of the open-door policy and equal commercial
opportunity are concerned, and would in their opinion be well
adapted to securing to China full control in Manchuria. I am,
however, of opinion, that until the pending negotiations for the
Hukuang loan have been completed, it would seem undesirable to
consider the question of another international loan for China’s
railway undertakings, and I would suggest, therefore, that, for the
present at any rate, it would be wiser to postpone consideration of
the first scheme. As regards the alternative proposal contained in
your excellency’s note, I observe with satisfaction that the
cooperation of interested powers forms part [Page 236] of the scheme, and I have the honor to
suggest, for your excellency’s consideration, that as a preliminary
step toward attaining this desirable end the two Governments should
unite in endeavoring to persuade the Chinese Government to admit the
Japanese to participation in the Chinchow-Aigun line, as being the
parties most interested. The question of supplying funds for the
purchase by China of existing lines to be connected with the
Chinchow-Aigun line could be considered subsequently.
I have, etc.,
