CO129-345 - Public Offices & Foreign Office - 1907 — Page 264

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

35776

RECR [August ] 0CL07

201

CHINA RAILWAYS.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[26290]

No. 1.

SECTION 1.

Sir J. Jordan to Sir Edward Grey.—(Received August 6.)

(No. 157. Confidential.) (Telegraphic.) P.

Peking, August 6, 1907.

PLEASE see your telegram No. 89 of the 25th ultimo. In view of the fact that we have several other outstanding Concessions besides that for the Tien-tsin-Chinkiang Railway, while the Germans have none, and that these Concessions will be governed by the precedent established by the negotiations for the latter line, the appointment of Cordes as representative of the Chinese Central Railways is open to objection. For the Germans have thus the opportunity of granting China easy terms for the Tien-tsin-Chinkiang line, in return for, say, a share in the reorganization of the Chinese navy, or mining rights in Shantung.

This supposition is not supported by any evidence in my possession, but the German attitude has recently become suspiciously accommodating, whereas at first it was almost truculent.

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