893.51/3050
The Minister in China (Crane) to the Secretary of
State
Peking, September 27,
1920.
[Received November 11.]
No. 291
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the
Legation’s despatch No. 68, of July 20th [21st], 1920,92 regarding the Consortium in which memtion is
made of an instruction received by the British Chargé d’Affaires
that in conjunction with his interested colleagues a note be
presented to the Chinese Foreign Office giving a full historical
statement concerning the formation and aims of the Consortium but
avoiding any mention of financial questions. After lengthy
discussion the text of a statement was agreed upon by the four
Legations and the text telegraphed to the Department in the
Legation’s No. 216, August 6th, 6 P.M.,93 which was subsequently
amended in consultation with my colleagues to conform with the
Department’s instructions No. 208, August 11th, 5 [3] P.M.,94
omitting all reference to Japan’s position. This note was presented
to the Chinese Foreign Office on September 28th together with the
relevant documents substantially as outlined in the Department’s
instruction of July 15th, 8 P.M.95
Referring to heading 5 in the list of documents herewith annexed as
submitted to the Chinese Foreign Office and to the Legation’s
telegram No. 240, September 6th, 5 P.M.,92 Information Series No. 193
could not be located in the Legation, accordingly the text of the
memorandum presented to the Japanese Foreign Office was included
rather than the “Department’s note of July 3rd to British, French
and Japanese Embassies,” defining governmental support to be given
to the Consortium.96 No complete text of this
note of July 3rd was in the possession of any of the four
Legations.
At the instigation of the British Chargé d’Affaires, under
instructions from his Government, this Legation agreed that
referring to headings 6 and 7 (see enclosed list of documents) the
British texts of correspondence with the Japanese be used, which are
almost identical
[Page 571]
in sense
with the State Department’s texts but dated later in each case. The
instructions of the Japanese Government also indicated that the
British text was contemplated by them for transmission. Under
heading 7 (see enclosed list of documents) item B from “State
Department March 16”, and item H from “French Government May 25th”,
together with heading 8 (Kajiwara–Lamont letters) were included at
the request of the Japanese Minister under instructions from his
Government. The note of the four Legations to the Chinese
Government, with the enclosures, was delivered simultaneously with a
second note (copy enclosed)97 stating that the text and documents delivered
were confidential and not to be published without the consent of the
Legations concerned first having been obtained. I have the honor to
enclose herewith copies of the note as delivered to the Chinese
Government.
I have [etc.]
(For the Minister)
A. B.
Ruddock
[Enclosure 1]
List of Documents Communicated to the
Chinese Government Respecting Organization of a New
Consortium
- 1.
- State Dept. letter to American Group Banks of July 9,
1918.98
- 2.
- State Dept. Note and Memo, to Embassies of Oct. 8,
1918.99
- 3.
- State Dept. Note to Embassies of May 31, 1919.1
- 4.
- Odagiri-Lamont exchange of letters.
- Odagiri to Lamont, June 18, 1919.2
- Lamont to Odagiri, June 23, 1919.3
- 5.
- Memo, from State Dept. to Japanese Foreign Office, July,
1919.4
- 6.
- Exchange of Memoranda between the British Foreign Office
and Japanese Embassy.
- Foreign Office to Embassy, August 11, 1919.5
- Foreign Office to Embassy, Nov. 20, 1919.6
- 7.
- Exchange of Memoranda between Japanese Government and
Governments of Great Britain, France and the United States,
March-May, 1920:
- (a)
- Japanese Govt. to Great Britain, March 16.7
- (b)
- From State Dept., March 16,8
- (c)
- From British Government, March 19.9
- (d)
- From Japanese Government, April 14.10
- (e)
- From British Government, April 28.11
- (f)
- From Japanese Government, May 10.12
- (g)
- From British Government, May 17.13
- (h)
- From French Government, May 25.14
- 8.
- Kajiwara–Lamont exchange of letters of May 11, 1920.15
[Enclosure 2]
The American, British,
French, and Japanese Representatives in China to
the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs (W. W.
Yen)
Peking, September 28,
1920.
Excellency: The Governments of France,
Japan, the United States of America and Great Britain
considering that the time has now arrived to make a joint
communication to the Chinese Government on the proposed scope
and objects of the so-called New Consortium which has been under
discussion between the four Governments for some time past, the
undersigned representatives of France, Japan, the United States
of America and Great Britain have the honour to state as
follows:
In the course of 1918 the United States Government informed the
other three Governments in question of the formation in the
United States of America of an American group of Bankers for the
purpose of rendering financial assistance to China. The
principles underlying the formation of the American group were
that all preferences and options for loans to China held by any
members of this group should be shared by the American group as
a whole and that future loans to China having a Governmental
guarantee should be conducted in common as group business,
whether these loans were for administrative or for industrial
purposes.
In notifying the other three Governments of these proposals the
United States Government recognised that the war had created
such a mutuality of interests between certain Governments and
peoples as to render this co-operation essential to any
constructive programme of financial assistance to China. It was
suggested therefore that the other Governments which were
largely interested in China and in a position at the time to
render such assistance—viz.
[Page 573]
France, Japan, and Great Britain—might be
willing to join with the United States in its proposed plan and
consent to the formation of similar national Groups organised on
the same basis to act in cooperation with the American Group. In
the proposal of the United States Government which in practice
envisaged a reconstruction of the old Consortium it was
specifically stated that there was no intention of interfering
with any of the rights of that Consortium. The hope was
expressed however that the new national Groups formed might be
made so broad as to include the members of the former Consortium
as well as others who had legitimate claims to such inclusion,
so as to meet the larger needs and opportunities of China in a
spirit of harmony and of helpfulness rather than of harmful
competition and self-interest.
The proposal of the United States Government as here outlined
received the most careful and friendly consideration on the part
of the French, Japanese and British Governments which resulted
in a meeting be[ing] held in Paris on May 11th and 12th, 1919,
at which the chief Representatives of the four Groups were
present to discuss the financial details of the proposed
arrangement as well as the scope and limit of their
activities.
A draft arrangement between the four Groups was then drawn up
embodying inter alia the principles of
the American proposals. While it is not the intention of the
present Note to do more than outline the broad aspects of the
question or to enter into financial details which await
confirmation by the Groups at the forthcoming inter-group
meeting to be held in New York in October next, we consider it
advisable to make the position clear in regard to an essential
point which might otherwise give rise to misapprehension, namely
the amount of support to be given by the respective Governments
to their national groups or to the Consortium as a whole.
It is to be understood that the Governments of each of the four
participating Groups undertake to give their complete support to
their respective national Group members of the Consortium in
operations undertaken pursuant to the inter-group arrangement
entered into by the bankers at Paris, which arrangement in turn
relates to existing and future loan agreements involving the
issue for subscription by the public of loans having a Chinese
Government guarantee subject to the proviso that existing
agreements for industrial undertakings upon which substantial
progress has been made may be omitted from the scope of the
arrangement.
A collection of documents which have passed between the
Governments interested in the Consortium as well as certain
letters exchanged between the American and Japanese Group
representatives which are herewith enclosed will enable the
Chinese Government to
[Page 574]
follow the course of the negotiations and understand the whole
position.
In making this communication to Your Excellency the undersigned
venture to reiterate the earnest hope of their respective
Governments for the early consummation of a united Government in
China so that the New Consortium may eventually be enabled to
give practical expression to the desires of the four Governments
concerned to assist in the future development of this
country.
- Y. Obata
- A. Boppe
- C. R. Crane
- B. H. Clive
[Enclosure 3—Translation15]
Memorandum of the French
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Japanese Embassy at Paris
The Imperial Embassy of Japan at Paris has kindly communicated on
the 10th instant to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs a note
despatched to the Department of State at Washington by the
Embassy of Japan, from which it appears that the Government in
Tokyo, taking cognizance of the assurances contained in the note
of the Department of State under date of March 16 last,16 and deeming
useless under the circumstances the insertion of the special
clauses providing for the Taonanfu-Jehol line and its branching
off toward the sea, declares itself ready to give its support to
the conclusion by the interested financial groups of the
arrangement reconstituting the financial Consortium in China.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the honor to inform the
Embassy of Japan that it gladly joins in the general assurances
furnished by the American Government. It is happy that it can
congratulate itself, together with the Embassy, upon the
conclusion of an agreement which assures the friendly
cooperation of the interested Powers for the greatest good of
China.
