CO129-362 - Public Offices - 1909 — Page 237

C

235

[This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Governmen6818

.EC?

Keep 10 AUG CO

2

soon as possible. Na's Foreign Secretary called to see me on the 29th in connection with another matter, and mentioned that the Grand Secretary was leaving next day for Tien-tsin, and would be absent from Peking for about a month, but he had no message to give me about the Shanghae-Ningpo Railway,

Shib-bst has again taken Na-t'ung's place temporarily at the Wai-wu Pu, and may be relied upon to act as a mere stop-gap till Na's return, and as Liang Tun-yen does not conceal his inability to influence either the grand council or the provinces, I have no expectation of a change for the better in the management of foreign affairs in the immediate future. I do not see that there is any resource available for pressing my complaints of which I have not taken advantage, and in presence of the conspicuous want of decision in the ruling power, which has now become the topic of the streets, and a matter of deep concern to other than merely foreign interests, the most judicious course at the moment appears to me to be a policy of waiting and watching for opportunities to reiterate my railway and mining grievances, and to bring the provinces

I have, &c.

to reason.

J. N. JORDAN,

(B]

CHINA RAILWAYS.

CONFIDENTIAL.

[26165]

No. 1.

Sir Edward Grey to Sir J. Jordan,

[July 21.]

SECTION 1.

(No. 213.) Sir,

Foreign Office, July 21, 1909. I HAVE received your despatch No. 227 of the 23rd ultimo, giving your views as to the possibility of bringing about an amalgamation of the principal British firms of financiers and contractors of good standing interested in the Far East.

As regards future transactions, whether purely financial or otherwise, it seems to me that we should endeavour to make it clear to the Chinese Government that they can deal with the offers of all British firms of good standing on their merits, but that, in return for not pressing one British firm upon them to the exclusion of others, His Majesty's Government expect loans or contracts to be given to British firms generally when their offers are satisfactory.

[2386 -1]

am, &c.

E. GREY