[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]294
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[2185]
No. 1.
[January 19.]
SECTION 1.
Sir Edward Grey to Sir G. Buchanan,
(No. 21.) Sir,
LORD FFRENCH, the agent of Messrs. Pauling in China, called at the Foreign
Foreign Office, January 19, 1911. Office on the 13th, and related to Sir A. Nicolson the substance of the conversations which he had had with the Russian Minister at Peking with regard to the Chenchow- Aigun Railway.
Lord ffrench said that he thought that he saw his way to an arrangement which would be satisfactory to all parties. He proposed to go to the United States and discuss the matter there, and if he could obtain the sanction of the American Government to his proposals he would then go to St. Petersburgh and lay the matter before the Russian Government.
He enquired whether the Foreign Office would assist him with his mission in Russia, and Sir A. Nicolson informed him in reply that a letter of introduction could be given him to your Excellency, asking you to put him into relations with the competent Russian Ministries, viz., Foreign Affairs, Commerce, and Finance. On his enquiring whether more could be done for him, Sir A. Nicolson said that your Excellency might be asked to suggest to the Russian authorities concerned to give him a "benevolent hearing," but that we could not do more than that for him.
Sir A. Nicolson added that the above seemed to be amply sufficient for his purposes.
I am, &c.
E. GREY.
[1855 -1]