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much that I could have wished to know. Like most of his countrymen, he is extremely reserved and reticent by nature, and only once during all our acquaintance have I ever seen him excited, and that was the night of the first landing of Japanese troops in Corea. Our relations here are necessarily somewhat different from what they were in Corea. There our interests were generally identical; here in commercial questions they occasionally clash, but Mr. Hayashi always contrives to be reasonable even when giving effect to the provokingly deliberate methods of his Government. He is greatly disappointed with the Chinese and pessimistic about the future,
M. Bapst, the French Minister, is something of an enigma to most of his colleagues. He came here with a reputation for ability, but for some reason does not: display it to the best advantage. He occasionally absents himself from meetings of his colleagues without giving any reason, and affects the same conduct in his dealings with the Chinese. For instance, he did not attend Prince Ching's birthday reception because he disliked going out to lunch. On the other hand, he is extremely agrecable, and our personal relations are very friendly. But he gives one the impression of a man who is inclined to be a stickler about small points, and who sometimes takes up a He is. position on hasty or imperfect information and then stubbornly adheres to it. unmarried.
The German Minister, Count Rex, who is also a bachelor, is a comparatively recent arrival. He is a bluff, hearty Saxon of an impetuous temperament which cannot brook the delays of Chinese official procedure. In other days he would have been an admirable exponent of the mailed fist policy, and even as it is he finds some difficulty in repressing his natural inclination to resort to forcible measures. He is obliged to content himself with threats, which, although they have not the effect they once had, are still not quite lost on the Chinese. Altogether, Count Rex is the type of man for whom the Chinese official has a genuine dislike, but withal a certain amount of wholesome awe.
The Austrian Minister, Ritter von Kuczynski, is a most amiable and courteous man, but so fussy as to be a mild terror to his colleagues. He interests himself chiefly in the municipal affairs of the Legation quarter, and claims for such questions a degree of attention which some of his colleagues consider incompatible with the discharge of their other duties.
Baron Grenier, the Belgian Minister, is a man about whom there is a considerable difference of opinion. He has only been here a few months. I have rather a personal liking for him, but people who know him better do not share this view, and his private life is said, with what truth I know not, to bear some resemblance to that of his Russian colleague.
I have, &c. (Signed) J. N. JORDAN.
[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]
CHINA RAILWAYS.
CONFIDENTIAL.
[18822]
No. 1.
[June 8.]
SECTION 2.
C. 0.
656
29968
RECE \REC 21 AUG 07
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received June 8.) (No. 102.) (Telegraphic.) P.
Peking, June 8, 1907. WITH reference to the query in the last paragraph of your telegram No. 63 of yesterday's date, the reply is in the affirmative. Mr. Hillier proposes that Japanese tenders for construction work on the railway should be accepted to the extent mentioned, and that the Chief Engineer should be authorized to do so.
[18831]
No. 2.
Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.-(Received June 8.) (No. 103.) (Telegraphic.) P.
Peking, June 8, 1907. PLEASE see your despatch No. 83 of the 25th February and my despatch No. 207 of the 28th April.
Lord Li assured me to-day that, in view of the attitude of the Anhui gentry, no other solution was possible save the surrender of the concession by the Syndicate. He said that he was very anxious to make an attempt to settle the question before his departure for London, and pressed me to ascertain privately for him what sum the Syndicate would accept. No large claim for compensation could be entertained, but out-of-pocket expenses would be paid.
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