Peking, Sept. 25.
The Chinese officials say that the
Agents of Messrs, Samuel agreement signed with the one of London for the loan of 8100,000,- 000 or thereabouts by the Ministry of Finance is not a formal contract, It is a preliminary understanding under which the London house will float the big loan for China for the re-construction of Hankow and for industrial development in Hupeh Province after the restoration of general peace in Europe and the Far East. All details as to how the loan shall be floated, its interest, etc., are left for future discussion between the two contracting parties. They say that the preliminary agreement is something like the one signed with the American Red Cross Society for the irrigation of the Huai River by Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce last Winter for the loan of 840,000,000 in the States.
Anyhow, the preliminary agreement is a great success for British firms in China especially as the proposed loan is intended for the development of Hankow which, after the completion of the Hankow-Szechuan and Hankow-Canton trunk railways, will surely become the
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.