!
78
Paraphrase of Telegram from Sir E. Goschen to Sir E.Grey
No.47, dated April 7th, 1909.
Before I had received your telegram No.150 on the
subject of the Canton Hankow Railway I had yesterday
enquired of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
whether the statement referred to in the telegram was
correct. He replied that it was not correct but I
subsequently elicited from His Excellency that he had
been asked by the banks whether the Imperial Government
desired them to withdraw the agreement. His Excellency
stated that he had told the banks that they must do as
they liked, and that the German Government could not
take the responsibility of advising them to break an
engagement with the Chinese Government.
A long conversation showed that the German Govern-
ment could not bring pressure upon the German group,
but that if the action of the British Government put a
stop to the agreement they would have no objection at
all.
I called the attention of His Excellency to the
account of the Paris meeting published in the Times.
He