1
Copy.
72
From
to
Paraphrase of Telegram te Sir E. Goschen from Foreign
Office, No. 46, dated April 3rd. 1909.
enclosure
in
Canton Hankow Railway.
In concert with my French colleague I have taken
action in the sense of the instructions contained in
your telegram No. 141 of the 1st. instant. The
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs met our repre-
sentations with the statement that, as the preliminary
contract had already been signed and, perhaps by now,
the final one also, it was rather late for the Imperial
Government to move in the matter. At the same time
he agreed to consult the Bank and inform us of the
result. We were unable to get him to undertake that
the Imperial Government should exercise pressure for
abandonment of the contract although we urged him
strongly in this sense.
No opportunity occurred of carrying out your con-
fidential instructions but I will find an occasion for
doing so as soon as possible.