File No. 5315/769.
Chargé Phillips to
the Secretary of State.
American Embassy,
London, February 4,
1910.
No. 1163.]
Sir: Referring to my cable February 3, I have
the honor to transmit herewith a copy of a note from the foreign office,
dated February 2, giving the substance of the communication from the
French embassy concerning the division of the Szechuen line into four
equal parts, and also the substance of British reply thereto.
I have, etc.,
(For the chargé d’affaires.)
Hugh
S. Gibson
.
[Inclosure.]
The Minister for Foreign
Affairs to Chargé Phillips.
Foreign Office,
London, February 2,
1910.
No. 1696/10.
Sir: With reference to your letter to Sir
Charles Hardinge of the 11th ultimo relative to the Hukuang loan
negotiations, I have the honor to inform you that I have now been
informed by the French embassy that the proposed division of the
Szechuen Railway (Hankow-Ichang) into four equal parts among the
four groups is not unacceptable to the French Government provided
that the principle of equality between the French and British groups
be extended to the Hankow-Canton Railway by the appointment of a
French subengineer, and that in the event of China granting the
concession for the extension beyond Ichang the French group receive
as compensation for the section they are giving up to the American
group the fourth or most westerly section of the Hankow-Szechuen
line, which was allotted to the British group by the agreement of
May 14 last, made at Berlin and subsequently ratified in London.
I have informed the French Government in reply that, while noting
with satisfaction their acceptance of the proposal in regard to the
division of the Szechuen line, I see no reason for departing from
the understanding arrived at last spring in regard to the two points
above alluded to, since the inclusion of the American group involves
equal sacrifices on the Szechuen line for all three groups, and can
not therefore be held to affect the distribution of engineering
sections on either line in the manner suggested by the French
Government. I added that in the opinion of His Majesty’s Government
the reopening of these questions was to be greatly deprecated, as
tending to the conclusion that there was to be no finality in any of
these negotiations.
I have, etc.,
(For the Secretary of State:)
F. A. Campbell.
