EARL of RONALDSHAYasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he has any information which he can give to the House with regard to the formation of a syndicate of British, French, and Russian financial houses for the purpose of carrying out surveys for a line of railway between the Russo-Persian frontier and Karachi; has the project the approval of the Foreign Office and the Government of India; has the consent of the Foreign Office and the Government of India been asked for or given in respect of that part of the syndicate's operations which involves the making of surveys in British Baluchistan and in the British sphere of influence in Persia; and can he state what is the composition of the British section of the syndicate?
§ Sir E. GREYHis Majesty's Government have been approached by such a syndicate, which terms itself a "Sociétéd'Etude," and is concerned with making" investigations into how far such a project is commercially feasible. His Majesty's Government have intimated that they have no objection to these preliminary studies being made, on the distinct understanding that they reserve complete freedom of action, in the event of construction being actually proposed, in regard to the management of the railway and constitution of the board, the representation of British interests in construction and control, the alignment adopted, the scale of freight and passenger rates, and other cognate matters. His Majesty's Government have not yet been asked for their assent to surveys in the regions mentioned in the question. I cannot state who are the British representatives on the syndicate, since a final list has not yet been submitted to me, or, so far as I am aware, agreed upon.