File No. 893.51/1311.
[Inclosure—Translation.]
[Untitled]
Foreign Office,
Paris,
February 12, 1913.
In a note of yesterday, February 11, the Ambassador of the United
States was pleased to make known his sentiment as to the advantage
there would be, from the American Government’s viewpoint, for the
purpose of expediting the conclusion of the Chinese reorganization
Joan, in accepting the three advisers nominated by the Chinese
Government with the reservation that the first two being a Dane and
a German, respectively, the third one should be a Frenchman; an
increase in the number of advisers would involve a claim of the
United States in behalf of its nationals.
The French Government, which is not seeking exclusive advantages and
never ceased to look upon the Chinese loan question in the light of
the accord of the six powers and the interest of all, that is to say
with the condition that real guaranties for the lenders and
efficacious supervision of the disbursements should be secured from
China, does not change its position, though it is ready to accept
any method that would not affect the merits of the case.
In order to secure the guaranty and supervision that the powers
unanimously demand, it is necessary and sufficient that the foreign
advisers appointment be agreed upon by the powers and China, and
that their powers be clearly defined in an incontestable instrument.
It is logical, on the other hand, that the advisers should belong to
the lenders nationality and that, in order to prevent difficulties
among the six powers, the offices to be filled should number six, in
which the Chinese Government has repeatedly declared itself disposed
to concur. If the six Legations would arrive at an agreement on
these very simple principles without discussing beforehand the
distribution of the six officers, the Chinese
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Government would soon adopt them, as
it is not practically in position to procure, outside of the
consortium, the funds it urgently needs.
Admission of the Chinese Government’s pretension to select and
appoint advisers, whether or not qualified, without assuming any
precise engagement as to their powers, would in truth be tantamount
to a failure of the six powers policy.
The essential principles once settled, the French Government has
assented and continues ready to assent to any combination that may
be proposed.
The latest, put forth by the Minister of the United States at Peking,
consisted in proposing to the Chinese Government advisers belonging
to the nationality of the lending powers (neutrals being no better
qualified and less able to enforce observance of the Chinese
engagements); the contract as offered by the groups implying the
appointment of three advisers connected with the loan, the said
advisers would be selected in the order of the quotas of the loan
issue, that is to say: France, England, Germany, it being understood
that the Legations would later endeavor to obtain from the Chinese
Government three other adviser ships in the departments, in
accordance with the propositions that might be offered, which office
would be assigned, in order, to the United States, Russia, and
Japan.
The American proposition was adopted by the other five concerned with
an amendment providing that a fourth office of adviser should be
asked in behalf of Russia, which invoked a formal engagement on the
part of the Chinese Government in connection with the 1895 loan. The
six Legations having thus reached an agreement, reported to their
Governments; the English, French, Japanese and Russian Governments
have accepted the distribution (an Englishman in the salt
administration, a German in the loan bureau, a Frenchman and a
Russian in the audit department); the German Government has
expressed a desire to have the German adviser placed in the salt
administration rather than in the loan bureau, which is a question
that may be arranged through an agreement between the two countries
concerned, England and Germany.
If the Government of the United States would also concur in the above
stated propositions, the six Ministers of the powers at Peking could
shortly resume with China the interrupted pourparlers and secure
from her the supervision of the security and disbursements which
from both the financial and political standpoint constitute the
indispensable condition of the reorganization loan.
