Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1926, Volume I

893.51/4970

The Minister in China (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State

Peking, September 3, 1926.
[Received October 20.]

No. 743

Sir: I have the honor to refer to my despatch No. 508, of March 11, 1926, and to previous correspondence, regarding the default on the Hukuang bond payment, and to my telegram No. 346, of August 24th, 4 p.m., in which I quoted my note to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs protesting against the issuance of the reported Silver $25,000,000 domestic loan bonds. In this connection, I have the honor to transmit herewith enclosed, for the Department’s information, a copy of a joint note, dated September 1, 1926, signed by the Counselors of the French and British Legations, in the absence of their respective ministers, as well as by myself, to the Wai Chiao Pu, formally demanding that after meeting the foreign and domestic charges now being served by the Customs, that the just claims of the bondholders of the Hukuang Railway Loan shall be met out of such Customs revenue, before any new capital charge is placed upon that revenue.

I have [etc.]

J. V. A. MacMurray

[Enclosure]

The American, British, and French Representatives to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The Undersigned Representatives of France, Great Britain and United States have the honour to remind the Wai Chiao Pu of the frequent communications they have had occasion to address to the Ministry on the subject of the default in the payment of the Hukuang Railway Loan, and in view of reports that have been received to the effect that the Ministry of Finance have been endeavouring to raise a new internal loan secured on a certain portion of the Customs revenue now being utilised for the service of one of the existing internal loans due for final redemption by the end of the year 1927, formally to demand that, if and when Customs revenue becomes available after meeting the foreign and domestic charges now being served thereby, the just claims of the bondholders of the Hukuang Railway loan shall be met out of such Customs revenue before any new capital charge is placed upon that revenue.

A request in the same sense has already been addressed to the Ministry of Communications direct by the Banking interests concerned in a joint letter dated August 19.

En l’absence de M. le Ministre de France,

Tripier

30 août 1926
(in the absence of H. M. Minister)

Owen O’Malley

,
Aug. 30, 1926

J. V. A. MacMurray

[Peking,] September 1, 1926.