893.51/2367
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Davis) to the Acting Secretary of
State
London, July 21,
1919.
[Received August
14]
No. 1061
Sir: With reference to the first portion of
the Department’s telegram No. 8804 of July 1, 4 p.m.,41 to Paris, and my
telegraphic reply No. 2577 of July 18, 7 p.m.,42 to the Department, I have
the honor to transmit herewith enclosed a copy of the Foreign Office
note and its enclosure, to which I made reference, relative to the
acceptance by the British Government of the American formula
regarding the measure of support to be accorded by the Governments
concerned to their respective national groups forming part of the
new International Consortium to provide loans to China.
Copies of these enclosures have been sent to the American Commission
to Negotiate Peace under cover of my despatch No. 168, and to the
American Embassy at Paris accompanied by my letter No. 144, both
dated July 19, 1919.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure]
The British Acting Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs (Curzon) to the American Ambassador (Davis)
[London,] July 17, 1919.
No. 100098/10.F.
Your Excellency: I have the honour to
acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency’s note No. 480 of the
8th instant, in which you communicated to me a formula regarding
the measure of support to be accorded by the Governments
concerned to their respective national groups forming part of
the new International Consortium to provide loans to China.
In reply I beg to state that, subject to the concurrence of the
other Governments concerned, His Majesty’s Government are
prepared to accept the American formula as correctly defining
the British attitude on this question. They are informing the
French Government of this decision and of the reasons which have
led them to prefer the American formula to that originally
proposed by Monsieur Pichon, as will be seen from the memorandum
to the French Embassy, copy of which I beg to enclose for Your
Excellency’s information.
[Page 469]
I presume that the United States Government have taken the
necessary steps to obtain the consent of the Japanese Government
to the adoption of the proposed formula.
I have [etc.]
(For Earl Curzon of Kedleston)
J. A. C. Tilley
[Subenclosure]
The British Acting Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs (Curzon) to the French Ambassador (Cambon)
No. 100098/10.F.
Memorandum
By his memorandum of June 19th the French Chargé d’Affaires was
kind enough to communicate to Earl Curzon of Kedleston a copy of
a note addressed by M. Pichon to the American Ambassador on the
subject of the resolution and draft agreement adopted at the
meetings held in Paris on the 11th and 12th of May by
representatives of the French, British, American and Japanese
groups forming the new International Consortium for financing
loans to China. Monsieur de Fleuriau at the same time asked to
be informed whether the views of the French Government as
expressed in the note met with the concurrence of His Majesty’s
Government.
Lord Curzon has delayed replying to Monsieur de Fleuriau’s
memorandum as he knew that the American Government were making
counter-proposals to the French Government and he considered
that it would avoid confusion if he were first put in possession
of those counter-proposals before proceeding to discuss the
merits of the original French proposals and of the formula
suggested by Monsieur Pichon to define the measure of diplomatic
support to be given by the Governments to the Groups.
The French Ambassador is doubtless aware that, for reasons
analogous to those set out by Monsieur Pichon in his note to the
American Ambassador, as having influenced the French Government
in their decision, His Majesty’s Government have found it
impossible to give a guidance [assurance?] of exclusive support to the British Group, and
they were therefore prepared, in principle and subject to the
concurrence of the other Governments interested, to approve the
text of the formula suggested by Monsieur Pichon.
They have however now received from the United States Ambassador
the text of a slightly modified formula which the United States
Government are prepared to accept as an interpretation of the
measure of diplomatic support contemplated in the Inter-Group
Agreement of May 12th.
[Page 470]
This formula runs as follows:
“The Governments of each of the four participating groups
undertake to give their complete support to their
respective national groups, members of the Consortium,
in all operations undertaken pursuant to the resolutions
and agreements of the 11th and 12th May, 1919,
respectively, entered into by the Bankers at Paris. In
the event of competition in the obtaining of any
specific loan contract the collective support of the
diplomatic representatives in Peking of the four
Governments will be assured to the Consortium for the
purpose of obtaining such contract.”
In Lord Curzon’s opinion the American formula is in full accord
with the intentions of the French Government as expressed in
their formula, the principal change being that each Government
is pledged to the support of its respective national group
rather than of the Consortium collectively, which is more in
accord with established facts and with the practice hitherto
pursued by the Governments.
For these reasons Lord Curzon is inclined to prefer the American
formula, and he has the honour to inform Monsieur Cambon that,
subject to the concurrence of the other Governments concerned,
His Majesty’s Government would favour its adoption as defining
the measure of support which they are prepared to give to the
British group in their operations in connection with the
Consortium.
