Peking, Oct. 19.
Some details of the much discussed British loan to Chen Chiung-ming are available here which ought to serve to clear the atmosphere. It has been suspected here that it was a renewal of the Cassell mining and_ railway contract and being under such suspicion has been caustically criticized by both Chinese and foreigners.
It turns out, however, to be a loan of £2,000,000 to the Canton Municipality for currency re-adjustment and municipal improvements with such public utilities as the electric light plant, telephones, water works and the like as security. The company making the loan is known as the Anglo-French China Corporation, with headquarters in London. The go-between in the preliminary negotiations is said to have been a Mr. Paget, an American architect long resident in Canton, so. the interests in the deal would appear to be fairly international, The contract was signed in the British Consulate-General in Shameen some time in September and - was endorsed by the Civil Governor, with written authority from Chen Chiung-ming, by the Mayor of Canton and by the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs. It provides for the transfer of the funds to the Chinese authorities in a series extending over the period of one year. A quarter of the total sum is to be paid over within the first three months, another quarter within the next three months, and the remaining half within the next six months, presumably at the convenience of the Corporation. The bonds are issued at
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.