CO129-345 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 14

This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.]

C. O.

AFFAIRS OF CHINA.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[25164]

•

No. 1.

31828

[July 291]

11

SECTION 8: 6 SEP 07.

(No. 270.) Sir,

Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.--(Received July 29.)

Peking, June 7, 1907.

I HAVE the honour to transmit to you herewith copy of a despatch from Mr. Fraser, His Majesty's Consul-General at Hankow, forwarding a set of documents relating to a series of Agreements made between the High Authorities of the Province of Kansuh and M. Splingaerd, who is described therein as a Secretary of Legation in the Belgian Diplomatic Service, but who is in reality a student interpreter of rather doubtful reputation attached to the Belgian Legation here. M. Splingaerd not being himself in & position to give effect to the large undertakings into which he had entered, made an agreement with a Commandant Baesers, also a Belgian, who was to form a Syndicate for financing the various projects, and in return to become the sole agent for these and all future Concessions obtained by M. Splingaerd.

Commandant Baesens, after executing his Agreement and obtaining translations of the contracts at Hankow, came to Peking, where he called upon me a few days ago and explained at considerable length the object of his visit, for which Mr. Fraser's despatch had already fully prepared me.

Two of the contracts he regarded as of comparatively minor importance, but the third, which meant the opening of the upper portion of the Yellow River to steam navigation, should, he considered, have an especial interest for us, and on it he mainly rested his appeal for British financial and diplomatic support. The scheme was to run launches from Tokió (latitude 40° 40′, longitude 111° 05') to Ninghsia, Lanchou, and Sining, and Commandant Baesens drew a picture of the industrial development which the introduction of steam would produce in these remote regions.

Two things were necessary for the success of the enterprises on which he had 'embarked--money and diplomatic support. The former he could obtain in his own country, but not the latter. It might and probably never would be invoked in a material form, but it should be at call, so to speak, if required. To secure his twofold object, he had determined to have recourse to British capital, and having already secured consider. able financial support in London, be invited me to give the whole scheme the benefit of my assistance in any negotiations which might ensue with the Chinese Government.

I pointed out to Commandant Baesens that the various contracts covered by his Agreement were made with M. Splingaerd, a Belgian subject, of whom had no know- ledge; that M. Splingaerd had undertaken in one of them not to hand it over to anybody else, and had in another, to which Commandant Baesens attached most importance, bound himself not to seek diplomatie intervention. In face of these negative stipulations and the positive engagements to which M. Splingaerd had com- mitted himself, I should hesitate, even were he a British subject, to make myself in any way responsible for the execution of documents one of which was not even disclosed.

Commandant Baesens at this stage produced the secret contract, with the view of convincing me that several of the provisions of the other three contracts were merely inserted to soothe the susceptibilities of the Central Government, and were not intended to have a binding effect upon M. Splingaerd,

I said that the Central Government would probably have their own views about the enforcement of such contracts, and that, even if they had not, public opinion, as expressed in the native press, would soon force their hands. Apart from this, however, the whole scheme did not rest upon a basis which commended it to me. There were certain conditions upon which British support was accorded to mixed undertakings of this kind, and so far these conditions had not been fulfilled. Commandant Baesens' supporters in London could, if they wished, submit their proposals to you and ascertain what, if measure of support you were prepared to accord to them, and, in the meantime, I must maintain an attitude of strict abstention.

I have, &c. (Signed)

any,

J. N. JORDAN.

[2570 ƒ--8]

B