[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[13744]
No. 1.
59
[April 29.]
SECTION 1.
Sir A. Hardinge to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received April 29.)
(No. 64. Confidential.) Sir,
Brussels, April 23, 1907. I HAVE the honour to report that on receipt of your despatch No. 37 of the 15th instant (received the 20th), I asked Messrs. Rothschild's representative here confi- dentially if he had heard anything, or could give me any information respecting the alleged Belgian advance for the construction of a railway from Kiukiang to Nan Chang. He is the most likely person to know of any negotiations of the kind, and it was through him that I was able to inform you last year of M. Naus' attempt to raise funds in Belgium in connection with his Russian loan negotiations.
Baron Lambert had himself heard nothing about the report, but he was good enough to promise to make inquiries of the financier here chiefly interested in all Chinese affairs, and the latter has just written to him as follows:
"Il n'est absolument pas question de la chose chez les, gens sérieux. Il est possible qu'un groupe de quatrième ordre ait entamé des pourparlers---quelques journaux en ont parlé; mais tout cela ne parait aucunement sérieux et l'affaire est totalement ignorée des cercles compétents.”
I shall have an opportunity of seeing Baron Lambert again in a few days, and will mention the matter to him once more; but it looks at first sight as if the report was mainly based on newspaper or native statements, and the advance of a loan without security is certainly a very un-Belgian proceeding.
I have, &c. (Signed) ARTHUR H. HARDINGE,
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