§ 2. Mr. MOREINGasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will state to what extent payments are due from the Shanghai-Nanking Railway for interest and for amortisation, respectively; and whether he will request the Chinese Government to carry out its obligation under Article 15 of the original loan agreement to devise other means of paying the bondholders if the railway's revenues were at any time insufficient?
§ Mr. EDENThe arrears of interest and amortisation on the Shanghai-Nanking Railway Loan as on the 1st June, 1933, are as follows: interest, £208,800; amortisation, £464,000. His Majesty's Minister has reminded the Chinese Government of their obligations under the loan agreement, and has urged that, failing payment from railway revenues, immediate and constructive measures should be taken to arrange for payment from other sources.
§ Mr. MOREINGIs it not a fact that since January, 1930, the Chinese Government have exercised a large measure of control over this railway, and that, as a consequence, the inefficiency and mismanagement have been so great that the interests of British bondholders have been greatly prejudiced?
§ Mr. EDENThat may be so, but the question on the Paper is as to what action we should take to induce the 2564 Chinese Government to meet the liability to the bondholders.
§ 3. Mr. MOREINGasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will state how much the Tientsin-Pukow Railway is in arrears to British creditors for interest and for amortisation, respectively, and when and in respect of what period the last coupon was paid; and whether he has any further information as to payments by the Tientsin-Pukow Railway Company into a monthly fund for the satisfaction of creditors?
§ Mr. EDENI will, with my hon. Friend's permission, circulate a statement of the arrears on the Tientsin Pukow Railway Loan of 1908 and supplementary loans of 1910 in the OFFICIAL REPORT. I have, however, no information as to what proportion of these loans is at present held by British subjects. The last payment made was in respect of the balance of coupon No. 33 of the German issue of the 1908 loan (due 1st October, 1924), amounting to 225,125; payment was made on the 13th January, 1933. As regards the last part of the question, representations have been addressed by His Majesty's Minister to the Chinese Government drawing their attention to the imperative necessity for the resumption by the railway administration of payments into the special reserve account which have been discontinued since February last.
§ Following is the statement of arrears of amortisation and interest on the TientsinPukow Railway Loan of 1908 and supplementary loan of 1910, British and German issues:
| Amortisation. | Interest. | ||
| 1908. | £ | £ | |
| British issue | … | 693,750 | 434,746 |
| German issue | … | 1,417,500 | 937,152 |
| 1910. | |||
| British issue | … | 444,000 | 355,200 |
| German issue | … | 850,400 | 722,916 |