[Confiscation of the Railway Flotilla by Chang Tso-lin for the Use of the Manchurian Navy: ThunderStruck Soviets Sending Delegate to Moscow Frox Our OWN
Harbin, Aug. 25.
Two unexpected bombshells dur-jing the past week have been sprung on the Chinese Eastern ay both by order of the Mukden authorities, General Chang, the Civil Administrator of the Special Arca, has notified the Railway Directors that the Educational Dept. of the C.E.R. will be absorbed by the newly formed Chinese Educational Dept, whilst Mukden has also decided that the valuable Railway Flotilla shall handed over to the Manchurian Naval Squadron. By a stroke of the pen two C. E, R. departments have been taken from the Company, just in the same way as the Railway Land Dept. was treated a couple} of years ago.
It ig only a week ago that the formal opening of the Educational Department took place, with much ceremony at which all' the leading Russian railway lights also attend-td. This new department has its Chief, Mr. Li Shou-jen, who has. been for many years attached to the Kirin Bureau, where he now occupies the position of acting Commissioner of Foreign Affairs. He is a perfect Russian linguist. and also speaks fluent English. In foreign circles he is one of the dest knowe of all of the Chinese officials, The transfer of the C. B. R. River Flotilla to the Ci naval authorities is a serious business for the Railway, which will be poorer by several millions of dollars as a result, As far back as January, 1925, the Chinese Government issued a decree prohibiting any other vessels other than those flying the Chinese ting from navigating the inland waters of China, whereby the Sungari River is also included. As the ©. E.R. fleet is only partly Chinese, its ensign being the joint flags of the Chinese and Soviet} Republics, halved, its vessels were also included in' this prohibition. The consequence is that for the past two seasons of navigation, most of the fleet have been tied up and idle, with the exception of vessels which were rented out st season. This has meant a loss of about a million dollars a year to Railway in one way or another and the Directors have been attempting for a long time past to get this order of things changed, without success.
The Edict Some three days ago Admiral 'Shen, who is Chief of the North-East' Squedron (the Manchurian Navy), arrived in Harbin from Mukden, and to-day has been published the by Marshal Chang Tso-lin which was telegraphed to Admiral Shen. Translated, it reads as follows:—"A telegram has been sent to me by the President of the C. E. R. dated August 21/5 stating that the navigating of the E.R, fleet in inland water contrary. to the Agreement, and cafizes loss to native ha On January 22 in the'2th year of the Chinese Republic was published an Edict forbidding the navigation of the said fleet. As all the vessels. and the moveable and immovable property belonging to the feet, were started and built from the income of the C. E. R. where capital is in close relationship with our State, the matter merits my close attention, The various vessels of the C. E.R. are all inactive and port at Vladivostok and 11 barges: all large and small vessels belonging to the C. E. R. and all other property of the Navigation Dept. including the river-bank, the workshops, buildings, wharves, jetties, harbours, godowns, machines and material, and all other remaining moveable and immovable property of this dept. will be handed over by the President of the C. E. R. to the Commander of the North East Squadron. In the future, according to the future actions of the Soviet Government as regards to Egersheld and the barges, we on our part, according to the present position "taken by us about the above-mentioned property, conforming with circumstances and also regarding the exploitation of the Chinese Eastern Railway, there may be worked out a satisfactory
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.