CO129-464 - Public Offices - 1920 — Page 497

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copy.

F 1389/1089/10).

485

DEPARTMENT OF OVERSEAS TRADE,

(Development and Intelligence),

35, Old Queen Street,

3. W.1.,

MEMORANDUM TO the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign

Affairs, Foreign Office, S.W.1.

D.O.T. Ref. No. 1439/F.E.

Mr. Capt. Hough.

1.

The Comptroller-General of the Department of

Overseas Trade presents his compliments to the Under-

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and with

reference to Foreign Office Memo (F1089/1089/10)

and enclosed correspondence of June 22nd, begs leave

to submit the following observations upon Mr. Alston's telegram No. 285 of June 9th.

2. There is no evidence of any concrete progress having been made since March 1919 by the group in which the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank and Messrs. Jardine Matheson and Company were interested, nor since September 1918 by the group in which Messrs. Bewick,

Moreing and Company, and Sir William Beardmore Limited

were interested.

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The only definite proposal now before us is the Cassel-Ede scheme, to which the Comptroller-General therefore thinks that support should now be given.

Sir William Clark does not think that any question

of monopoly is likely to arise as the latest syndicate have specified areas defined in which they would be

allowed to operate.

3.7.20.