[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be returned to the Foreign Office if not required for official use.]

1299/57/10.)

To CHINA.

telegram to Sir M. Lempson (Peking).

Foreign Office. 5th April, 1929. 5.30 p.m.

75

• •

Your telegram

Indemnity).

of February 16th: /Boxer

You should now take steps to persuade the

Chinese government themselves to ask for a return of

the indemnity funds, suggesting to them that if they

will voluntarily offer certain written assurances as

to the way in which the money will be expended, it

will assist you in obtaining a favourable decision

from His Majesty's Government, and it will assist

His Majesty's Government in obtaining parliamentary

sanction for the surrender of control over so large

a sum of money. You may instruct Mr. Newton to

start preparatory work on these lines.

2. The assurances which we should like to

obtain are as follows:-

(1) That the Chinese government will deal with

the funds more or less on the lines of the Buxton

Committee's report.

(2) That the Chinese government will invest

the moneys already in hand and due for payment shortly

in the rehabilitation of existing railways and that

the money thus invested will be regarded as a loan

to the railways so as to form an endowment fund for

educational purposes.

(3)

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