浙路风潮中的诸权之争

Scramble for Rights in Zhejiang Railway Agitation in the Late Qing Dynasty

清末的浙路风潮涉及中英之间、中央与地方、政府与民众等多方利益纠葛,围绕《苏杭甬铁路草合约》《铁路简明章程》等一系列章程、合约的制定与实施,各方展开了持久的利益博弈,充分利用法律武器试图实现自己的权利诉求最大化。《苏杭甬铁路草合约》原本从属于中英之间的政治借款合同,是中外不平等关系的产物。清政府批准设立浙路公司虽有借助兴建铁路收回路权的意图在内,然而在浙路风潮发生后,反倒加剧了本已紧张的中央和地方关系。清政府无力应对内外危机,对外没有足够的实力与英国就废约一事进行谈判,对内不能很好地处理中央和地方的关系。特别是,清政府制定《公司律》却不遵守相关规定,背法而治,失信于民,引发了自身的合法性危机。

The Zhejiang Railway Agitation in the late Qing Dynasty involved multiple conflicts of interests between China and Britain,the central and local governments,and the government and the common people.During the agitation,various parties engaged in a prolonged benefit game playing focusing on the formulation and implementation of a series of regulations and contracts such as the Draft Suzhou-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway Contract and Concise Railway Regulations,and tried to maximize their own interests by making full use of law.The Draft Suzhou-Hangzhou-Ningbo Railway Contract was originally a political loan contract between China and Britain and a product of the unequal relationship between China and foreign countries.Although the Qing Government approved the establishment of the Zhejiang Road Company with the intention of recovering the railway rights and saving the nation from danger,the railway agitation actually intensified the tension between the central and local governments.The Qing Government was unable to deal with internal and external crises,i.e.,neither it had enough strength to negotiate with Britain on the abolition of the treaty,nor was able to deal with the relationship between the central and local governments.Especially,it adopted the Company Law but did not abide by the relevant provisions in the law,thus lost the trust of the people and caused its own legitimacy crisis.