327
his opinion that we had nothing to lose by
waiting. Eventually Sir E. Grey decided that
we could afford to wait.
5.
Meanwhile, however, the British
and Chinese Corporation had taken the com-
munication made to them as an authority to
proceed with the negotiations, and in January
1906 the French Embassy informed Sir E.Grey
that an agreement had been arrived at between
the British and Chinese Corporation and a
French financial group, and enquired if it had
the cognizance and approval of His Majesty's
Government. According to the communication
from the French Embassy, this agreement contem-
plated the formation of a new Company whose
capital would be at the disposal of the British
and Chinese Corporation, the French Group,
and a Belgian Group in the proportions of
45, 45, and 10 per cent respectively. Lord
Elgin has not been able to discover, from the
correspondence in this office, the nature of
the reply which was finally returned to
tho