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telegraphed to Sir E. Fraser that Mr. Cheetham declined the offer.
I then asked Mr. Cheetham what was the
present position of the Texas Oil Company's Agency. He replied that Mr. Douglas the travelling Inspector of the Company, had recently visited the blony and that Mr. Douglas was desirous of eliminating Sanders Rehders, who knew nothing of the business and merely sub-let their Agency. The result was unnecessary expense to the Texas Oil Company. I asked what firm would then get the Agency and he replied that Reiss and Company would get it and that he hoped to be employed under them.
4.
!
I next interviewed Mr. P. H. Holyoak one of the partners in China of the Firm of Reiss and Company of Manches- -ter and London and the Head of that Fim in Hongkong. Hr. Holyonk holds very pronounced anti-German views. He has lately been nominat -ted by the Hongkong General Chamber of Commerce na its representa -tive on the Legislative Council. Mr. Holyoak told me that he had nothing against Mr. Cheetham who he was convinced would zuch rather work for a British Firm than for Germans.
He told me that in the agreement made between Reiss & Company and Lesers. Sanders Rehders in London, his Firm had undertaken not to make any endeavour to obtain the Agency for the Texas Oil Compmy. He regretted this step very much as he thought that only for this bar he might have obtained the agency through Mr. Douglas. He hoped he might still get it as of course the Texas Oil Company could of their own initiative transfer it. He added that Mr. H. Sanders was a plausible but untrustworthy man and that the representative of Messrs. Reiss & Company in London Mr. Tompkins, formerly head of the Firm here and well known to me,
found Mr. Sanders an impossible manto deal with.
5.
I gathered from the above interview tint the retention or otherwise of Mr. Cheetham as nominal agent of the Texas Oil Compay is of no real importance in this matter, and that the object should be to eliminate Messrs. Sanders Rehders. I therefore telegraphed to you on the 23rd.
losure 4.
instant in terms of the enclosed paraphrase,
Gov
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6.