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This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government.j
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13950
CHINA RAILWAYS,
CONFIDENTIAL.
[12306]
No. 1.
Sir Edward Grey to Sir F. Bertie.
(No. 252.)
(Telegraphic.) P.
CANTON-HANKOW Railway Loan.
REG 24 APR C
[April 1.]
154
SECTION 1.
Foreign Office, April 1909.
Your telegram No. 51 of the 31st ultimo.
Instructions to act in concert with his French colleague have been sent to His
Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin.
[12306]
(No. 141.)
(Telegraphic.) P.
No. 2.
Sir Edward Grey to Sir E. Goschen.
CANTON-HANKOW Railway.
Sir F. Bertie's telegram No. 51 of the 31st ultimo.
Foreign Office, April 1, 1909.
As you will have seen from telegram sections, the Germans are being prossed to conclude Final Agreement by Chinese Government.
The Agents of the British and French groups in Peking have proposed, in order to prevent this, that their Governments should point out to German Government that it is inadvisable to conclude loans on terms which, in the opinion of the two Governments, do not assure any proper control over funds or even guarantee ultimate construction of line.
This suggestion has been made to the French Government by His Majesty's Ambassador at Paris, who concur, as you will perceive, and have instructed their Ambassador at Berlin in the same sense.
You should take similar action in concert with him.
(Confidential.)
You might also point out to Herr von Schoen separately and unofficially that the Chinese Government gave us a promise in September 1905 as regards this particular line (Sir E. Satow's No. 316, Confidential, the 22nd September, 1905, "Affairs of China," Part LIV), that the conclusion of anjAgreement-of a kind never contemplated in 1905-by the Chinese Government with any foreign parties, whereby our people would be deprived of all the advantages of that Agreement, would violate its spirit. Of course this Agreement is only between us and China, but we should be obliged to lodge a complaint with Chinese Government if it were broken.
We should be glad to see an Agreement with German groups, but in default of that we should, with reference to this particular line, have to take what steps we can with Chinese Government to protect what special rights we possess, although we have no desire to oppose German enterprise in general.
[12306)
(No. 62.)
(Telegraphic.) P.
No. 3.
Sir Edward Grey to Sir J. Jordan.
CANTON-HANKOW Railway Loan.
Foreign Office, April 1, 1909.
Please refer to Sir F. Bertie's telegram No. 51 of the 31st ultimo,
Instructions to co-operate with his French colleague have been sent to His Majesty's Ambassador at Berlin.
[2241 a-1]
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