churia Railway Company for the loan in connection with that section of the line east of the Liao River, and shall also appoint and direct a Chinese engineer to consult and act with the Japanese engineer in making a survey of the Kirin-Changchun Line to furnish a basis for estimating the amount of the loan needed for the construction of the line, and within six months after the completion (of the survey) shall enter into a contract with the South Manchuria Railway Company for the loan.

V. The lines from Hsin-min to Mukden and from Kirin to Changchun under the management of China must connect with the South Manchuria Railway line. The Tientsin-Shan-hai Kuang Railway Administration and the South Manchuria Railway Company shall appoint representatives to consult together and draw up the necessary regulations.

VI. The rate at which the loans specified in Articles I and II shall be issued shall be determined fairly in accordance with the terms of the most recent loan negotiated by China with any foreign country.

VII. Within one month after the payment of the purchase price of the Hsinmin-Mukden Railway, the Chinese Railway Administration shall appoint officers to take control of the same.

Japanese Calendar, Meiji XL Year, Fourth Moon, 15 Day.

Chinese Calender, Kuanghsu XXXIII Year, Third Moon, 3 Day. (April

15, 1907.)

Note.

In connection with this convention see also the agreement for the handing over of the Hsinmin-Mukden Railway, May 27, 1907 (No. 1907/5, post): Supplementary Agreement for a loan for the Hsinmin-Mukden and Kirin-Changchun Railways, November 12, 1908 (No. 1908/18, post): detailed agreements concerning the Hsinmin-Mukden and the Kirin-Changchun Railway loans, August 18, 1909 (Nos. 1909/6 and 1909/7, post): also, with particular reference to the Kirin-Changchun Railway, see Article 6 of the agreement relating to Chientao, September 4, 1909 (No. 1909/10, post), and Article 7 of the Sino-Japanese treaty respecting South Manchuria and Eastern Inner Mongolia, May 25, 1915 (No. 1915/8, post), and Kirin-Changchun Railway loan agreement of October 12, 1917 (No. 1917/11, post). The following is a translation from the Chinese text of an agreement for the construction of the Kirin-Changchun Railway by the Chinese Eastern Railway, which had been signed June 28/July 11, 1902:

Preliminary Agreement for Kirin-Changchun Railway, July 11, 1902.

1. The construction and management of the Kirin-Changchun railway by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company is undertaken with the express object of encouraging the trade of the city of Kirin. Its name shall be the Kirin Branch Railway. The Regulations as to its construction are given below. The Regulations contained in the contracts entered into with the Chinese Government on the 2d. of the Eighth Moon, XXII Year of Kuanghsü, Chinese Calendar, that is August 27 (September 8), 1896, Russian Calendar [No. 1896/5, ante], and on the 18th of Fifth Moon, XXIV Year of Kuanghsü, Chinese Calendar, that is June 24 (July 6, 1898) [No. 1898/15, ante] for the construction of the main line of the Chinese Eastern Railway, and the Southern Manchuria Branch line, respectively, do not apply to the construction of this Kirin Branch line, and are not to be observed in dealing with it.

2. For the supervision of the construction of this railway in a thorough and honest manner, there shall be established a Supervising Commission, the General Director of which shall be the Tartar General of Kirin, whose authority shall in no wise differ from that exercised by the General Director of the main line, His Excellency, Hsü, with reference to that line, and the Deputy Lieutenant General of Kirin shall be the Assistant Director.

The consulting members of the Commission shall be the Kirin Taot'ai, the Superintendent of Works, the Assistant Superintendent of Works, and the Agent empowered to act in behalf of the Superintendent of Works.

3. Before undertaking the construction of this branch line, the Superintendent of Works shall send a deputy to survey and fix the direction of the line, and prepare a map of the same, after which the Tartar General of Kirin and the Superintendent of Works of the Chinese Eastern Railway must consult together and agree to approve. In surveying this line steps must be taken to carry it around any villages, houses, graves, or market

towns.

4. In all matters pertaining to the construction and management of this branch line efforts shall be made to adopt the best methods in the hope that there may be a constant tendency to improvement which will secure success.

To obtain the land needed for the branch line, it will be necessary to first make a map and submit the same to the Tartar General of Kirin for his approval. But the people of the province depend upon the cultivation of their lands for a living, and all lands needed for railway stations, telegraph lines, or for obtaining needed sand, rock, earth, lime, etc., must be paid for at a just estimate of their real value, based upon their quality as agricultural lands; it will not be permitted to determine prices as was done in the case of the main line.

If any of the lands referred to are public lands, no payment need be made for them, but, if they be private lands, payment must be made promptly to enable the owners to remove elsewhere.

5. All lands needed for the road must be definitely bought at one time, after which there must be no further additions or extensions made. In the case of all lands taken for the use of this railway the Tartar General must first examine the map of the same and give his approval, and the price must be paid in full before such lands can become the property of the railway. All lands that are the property of the said Company shall be free of all land taxes. The said Company shall have sole power to control the same, as well as to construct buildings, execute other necessary works, and establish telegraph lines for the use of the railway. All regulations relating to the operation of this railway, including tariffs for goods and passengers, shall be fixed by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company, itself. All receipts of the said Company, such as the earnings of the traffic and income from the telegraphs shall be free from every sort of taxation. If any mines be opened, arrangements shall be made hereafter for dealing with them; this rule does not apply to them.

6.-All materials needed by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company for the construction and operation of this branch line shall be obtained from the shops at Harbin as needed; it will not be necessary to establish other shops at Kirin or Changchun, lest there be thus an unnecessary occupation of the people's land.

7.-With regard to this branch line, it is hereby distinctly agreed that at the expiration of 36 years from the date of the signing of this contract the Chinese Government shall have the right to buy back the railway by the payment of the original capital stock plus the debts incurred on account of construction and the interest thereon. All surplus earnings of the said Company after payment of dividends to share-holders shall be deposited in a sinking fund for the repayment of the capital stock, and shall be deducted from the amount to be paid for re-purchase. If at the expiration of the 36 years' period China shall not desire to re-purchase the railway, this agreement shall be continued for 44 years longer, at the expiration of which time the Chinese Eastern Railway Company must in accordance with the terms of this contract return to China without payment this branch line with all its railway stations and all public property.

8. When the Kirin branch line is reported completed the Chinese Eastern Railway Company must carry all official despatches for the Chinese Government free of charge. Chinese soldiers in pursuit of robbers and all arms and ammunition as well as the soldiers' pay shall be transported at half rates.

9.-Any Chinese subjects living within the boundaries of the railway property who may be guilty of any offence light or serious must be tried by the nearest deputy of the Bureau of Railway Affairs. Any Chinese subjects arrested by the Russian police for violation of Regulations or offense against the Law must be at once delivered to the Deputy of the General Bureau of Railway Affairs for custody and trial, and must not be detained (by the said police).

10. All duties leviable upon Chinese or foreign goods transported by the Kirin Branch Railway must be dealt with in accordance with Regulations to be hereafter established by the Chinese Government. These Regulations shall be determined by the Chinese Board of Foreign Affairs and the Chinese Board of Revenue in consultation with the Russian Minister at Peking.

11.-All such materials as sand, rock, lime, and earth needed by this Railway shall be free of all customs and likin taxes, and all lumber shall pay a tax of ten per cent. of its value according to the Chinese Regulations. Immediately upon the transportation of the lumber to the Western Lumber Customs Station this duty shall the same day be paid in full.

12.-Chinese subjects shall have exactly the same rights and privileges as Russians for trading within the limits of the lands taken by the Railway; no disinction shall be made.

13.-On the day of the approval of this agreement at Peking the Chinese Eastern Railway Company shall deliver to the Tartar General of Kirin 350,000 Roubles, Russian Currency.

14. This agreement for the Kirin Branch Railway is a special arrangement, and it shall not be cited hereafter as a precedent for the construction of other branch lines no matter where.

15. The Chinese Eastern Railway Company shall make every effort to employ native laborers for the construction of this Branch Railway, and the local authorities shall exert themselves to the utmost to assist in securing such laborers.

16. After the parties to this agreement shall have signed the same, it shall not go into effect until it shall have been first approved by the Ministers of the Chinese Board of Foreign Affairs and the Russian Minister of Finance, Mr. Witte; and not until then may Mr. Te (Daniel), the Superintendent of Construction, begin the work of building this line. Kuanghsü XXVIII, Sixth Moon, 7th Day (July 11th, 1902, New Style).

NUMBER 1907/4.

RUSSIA (Chinese Eastern Railway Company) AND CHINA.

Agreement for the transfer to China of the telegraph lines in Manchuria outside the Chinese Eastern Railway territory.*-May 23, 1907.

PEKING, 23rd May, 1907.

The Director General of the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration,

Peking.

I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 21st inst.† and beg to confirm the agreement regarding the transfer to China of the telegraph lines. in Manchuria outside the Railway territory, viz.:

The Chinese Eastern Railway Administration will without delay cede to the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration the telegraph lines and material specified below, viz.:

1. Tsitsikar city to Helampo.

2. Tsitsikar city to Railway station.

3. Harbin to Mihailo-Semenovsk-two wires with all instruments, batteries and material found at the stations on this line.

4. Hailin Railway station to Ninguta.

5. Tao-lai-chao to Kirin-two wires.

6. Tao-lai-chao to Potune.

7. Tao-lai-chao to Ukashu-Kuanchengtsu.

8. Kuanchengtsu Railway station to city.

9. Hailar Railway station to city and

10. All telegraph material still in existence of the Kirin-Omoso-Ninguta line and the projected Omoso-Titaso line.

* Text as printed in Soglashenia, p. 53.

In connection with this agreement, see also that of October 7, 1907 (No. 1907/17, post). This letter is not here printed, being reproduced in full in the reply except for the following introductory paragraph:

"Having arrived at an understanding with the Russian Government regarding the transfer to China of the telegraph lines in Manchuria outside the railway territory and having been informed by H. E. Russian Minister that this matter has to be finally settled with the Chinese Eastern Railway Administration we should feel greatly obliged if you would be good enough to confirm the following agreement," etc.

It is further understood that whatever spare material, which may be found along the above mentioned lines, will belong to the Chinese Telegraph Administration. In consideration for which the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration undertakes to pay the Chinese Eastern Railway Administration in Peking on or before the first day of September 1907 the sum of $120,000.00 (Mexican Dollars one hundred and twenty thousand).

The Chinese Eastern Railway Administration at Harbin has been advised of the conclusion of the above agreement and instructed to hand over the lines and materials mentioned therein to the Representative of the Imperial Chinese Telegraph Administration.

Yours faithfully,

(Signed)

J. CHESHEV,

Representative of the Chinese Eastern Railway Administration.

NUMBER 1907/5.

JAPAN (South Manchuria Railway Company) AND CHINA. Agreement for the handing over by Japan of the Mukden-Hsinmint'un Railway, together with the rolling-stock and equipment.*—May 27, 1907.

Chou Ch'ang-ling, Expectant Taotai, Second Grade Button, Director-General of the Railway Administration Inside and Outside Shanhaikwan, and

"Chiu-Pao-T'ien-Cheng-Chou," Director-General of the South Manchuria

Railway,

having been duly empowered, have agreed upon the following articles relating to the handing over of the Mukden-Hsinmint'un Railway, together with locomotives, rolling-stock and materials.

The parties named, having assured each other of being fully empowered by their respective Governments, have drawn up an agreement, in accordance with the following articles, for the purpose of handing over to the Chinese Railway Administration the railway between Mukden and Hsinmint'un, together with all equipment in the neighborhood of the line, rolling-stock, and materials.

Two copies have been drawn up in Chinese and two in Japanese.

ARTICLE 1.-The articles to be handed over to the Chinese Government are as stated in the attached list.

ARTICLE 2.-The date of handing over is fixed as the 40th year of Meiji. * Translation from the Chinese text as printed in Wang, p. 131.

In connection with this agreement see also the Sino-Japanese conventions regarding the Hsinmin-Mukden and Kirin-Changchun Railways, April 15, 1907 (No. 1907/3, ante): Supplementary Agreement for a loan for the Hsinmin-Mukden and Kirin-Changchun Railways, November 12, 1908 (No. 1908/18, post): Detailed Agreement concerning the Hsinmin-Mukden Railway Loan, August 18, 1909 (No. 1909/6, post).

6th month 1st day, or the 33rd year of Kuanghsü, 4th moon, 21st day (June 1, 1907). All funds received, together with all matters relating to train traffic, will pass under the charge of the Chinese Railway Administration. Before the road is handed over they will remain under the charge of the South Manchuria Railway Company.

ARTICLE 3.-All officials and employees now belonging to the road will be temporarily borrowed of the South Manchuria Railway Company during a period of seven days, beginning from the date of the handing over of the road, until the Chinese Railway Administration can appoint substitutes therefor. Salaries and expenses during the said period of seven days will be defrayed by the South Manchuria Railway Company, in order to facilitate the handing over of the road, and as an expression of friendship.

ARTICLE 4.-A list of the names of the officials and employees on the road is now handed to the Chinese deputy. If the Chinese Railway Administration wishes to continue their services, the South Manchuria Railway Company will give heed to the wishes of the individuals.

ARTICLE 5.-After the road has been handed over, if not within the period for the alteration of the line, the matter of train traffic and the appointment of officers by each party will be taken up and settled, that cooperation may be facilitated.

ARTICLE 6.-Besides the articles to be handed over, referred to in Article 1, if not within the period for the alteration of the line, the materials collected for the repair of rolling-stock and rails will be given to the Chinese Railway Administration in accordance with a list drawn up by the South Manchuria Railway Company, to be handed over as they now stand.

ARTICLE 7.-Besides the articles referred to in the preceding article, if there should be any important articles required by the Chinese Railway Administration, they will be handed over at a just price, providing the South Manchuria Railway Company does not suffer inconvenience thereby.

ARTICLE 8.-Besides the rolling-stock and materials to be handed over, referred to in Article 1, if not within the period for the alteration of the line, such articles as are urgently needed by the Chinese Railway Administration will be loaned to it at a just rental, providing the South Manchuria Railway Company suffers no great inconvenience thereby.

ARTICLE 9.-If not within the period for the alteration of the line, coal and water required by the Chinese Railway Administration will be supplied at a just price, providing the South Manchuria Railway Company suffers no great inconvenience thereby.

ARTICLE 10.-After the road has been handed over, articles to be removed to the South Manchuria Railway Company, not included among those to be handed over, together with the caretakers thereof, will be transported from Hsinmint'un to the South Manchuria Railway by the Chinese Railway Administration free of charge. Officials and employees of the said company, together with their families and household effects, will receive similar treatment within a period of six months, at the expiration of which the right cannot be availed of.

ARTICLE 11.-Important matters which may arise in the future, in addition to