and I met at the Rapprochement Banquet in the Goldsmiths’ Hall last May. I talked to him then about the possibility of a special loan. Now that he has worked his usual wizardry in the money markets on our behalf, I feel that he must be apprised fully of the situation on the Sino-Indian border.’
‘I’m very much obliged to you, Sir Charles,’ said Sir HamoStrange. What a tremendous thrill it was to be summoned to these exalted places! This distinguished diplomat was a household name in England, a man who could prevent wars by the power of words and the exercise of a brilliant and informed mind. Such men, close to the Sovereign and to the great Ministers of State, had the potential to become invaluable allies. But enough of this daydreaming! Listen to what Colonel Temperley was saying.
‘You will be aware of the dangerous tensions that built up when Russia turned her greedy eyes towards Afghanistan, a British dependency, in the ’80s. They violated the Afghan border in 1885, and we were obliged to frighten them away. I recall that Mr Gladstone persuaded Parliament to grant him eleven million pounds for the project.’
Napier smiled behind his hand. Colonel Temperley was a staunch Conservative.
‘Now, one outcome of that dangerous moment,’ the colonel continued, ‘was the Tsar’s quite sudden conviction that any ventures into Afghanistan would be interpreted by Britain as an aggressive move towards the Indian border—’
‘India and its borders, Sir Hamo,’ Napier interrupted, ‘being utterly inviolable, and their integrity non-negotiable. She is protected by vast oceans lapping her boundless shores, by great and virtually impassable mountain ranges to the north, and by the British Raj. Pray continue, Colonel Temperley.’
‘As I say, the Tsar began to see sense, and turned his attention to China. He needed to expand somewhere ,you see, and unlike the other European powers, Russia had paid no attention to Africa until it was too late.’
‘Thank God for that,’ muttered Sir Charles Napier, and it was Temperley’s turn to give vent to a wry smile.
‘Expansion, Sir Hamo, is made along railway lines, and the Tsar realized that other possible areas of expansion, such as the vast deserts of Persia, and the mountains of north-west India, were closed to him. So, China it was, and last year the Tsar began his so-called Trans-Siberian Railway—’
‘Why “so-called”, Colonel Temperley?’ asked Sir Hamo Strange.
‘Because the railway is simply a modern means of invading China. Russia hopes that it will very quickly subdue the crumbling Chinese Empire by sending its troops to every corner of that vast land.’ Despite himself, Colonel Temperley laughed. ‘I expect he dreams of building onion domes on top of the Buddhist temples, and converting all those Taoists to Orthodoxy.’
‘What Temperley means, Sir Hamo,’ said Napier smoothly, ‘is that Russia will fail in its project. It has accused China of being effete. It needs to look nearer home.’
‘The Trans-Siberian Railway was funded by France, but when the possibility of a secret alliance in consequence of that funding began to fade at the beginning of this year, France began to find it difficult to continue the massive payments required.’
‘There’s more to it than that, Sir Hamo,’ said Napier. ‘There’s a lot of secret diplomacy involved, which we cannot talk about here. Suffice it to say, that, while we don’t want to discourage Russia’s turning towards France (it turns her away from Germany, you see) we don’t want her losing interest in China, and turning her attention once more to India. So the British Government secretly determined to offer the Tsar a massive loan, at one per cent, on the condition that he maintains absolute secrecy. And that was why we called you in, Sir Hamo, to raise an international loan, from private sources, of thirty million pounds. And to our amazement and delight, you never even asked what the
‘I’m very much obliged to you, Sir Charles,’ said Sir HamoStrange. What a tremendous thrill it was to be summoned to these exalted places! This distinguished diplomat was a household name in England, a man who could prevent wars by the power of words and the exercise of a brilliant and informed mind. Such men, close to the Sovereign and to the great Ministers of State, had the potential to become invaluable allies. But enough of this daydreaming! Listen to what Colonel Temperley was saying.
‘You will be aware of the dangerous tensions that built up when Russia turned her greedy eyes towards Afghanistan, a British dependency, in the ’80s. They violated the Afghan border in 1885, and we were obliged to frighten them away. I recall that Mr Gladstone persuaded Parliament to grant him eleven million pounds for the project.’
Napier smiled behind his hand. Colonel Temperley was a staunch Conservative.
‘Now, one outcome of that dangerous moment,’ the colonel continued, ‘was the Tsar’s quite sudden conviction that any ventures into Afghanistan would be interpreted by Britain as an aggressive move towards the Indian border—’
‘India and its borders, Sir Hamo,’ Napier interrupted, ‘being utterly inviolable, and their integrity non-negotiable. She is protected by vast oceans lapping her boundless shores, by great and virtually impassable mountain ranges to the north, and by the British Raj. Pray continue, Colonel Temperley.’
‘As I say, the Tsar began to see sense, and turned his attention to China. He needed to expand somewhere ,you see, and unlike the other European powers, Russia had paid no attention to Africa until it was too late.’
‘Thank God for that,’ muttered Sir Charles Napier, and it was Temperley’s turn to give vent to a wry smile.
‘Expansion, Sir Hamo, is made along railway lines, and the Tsar realized that other possible areas of expansion, such as the vast deserts of Persia, and the mountains of north-west India, were closed to him. So, China it was, and last year the Tsar began his so-called Trans-Siberian Railway—’
‘Why “so-called”, Colonel Temperley?’ asked Sir Hamo Strange.
‘Because the railway is simply a modern means of invading China. Russia hopes that it will very quickly subdue the crumbling Chinese Empire by sending its troops to every corner of that vast land.’ Despite himself, Colonel Temperley laughed. ‘I expect he dreams of building onion domes on top of the Buddhist temples, and converting all those Taoists to Orthodoxy.’
‘What Temperley means, Sir Hamo,’ said Napier smoothly, ‘is that Russia will fail in its project. It has accused China of being effete. It needs to look nearer home.’
‘The Trans-Siberian Railway was funded by France, but when the possibility of a secret alliance in consequence of that funding began to fade at the beginning of this year, France began to find it difficult to continue the massive payments required.’
‘There’s more to it than that, Sir Hamo,’ said Napier. ‘There’s a lot of secret diplomacy involved, which we cannot talk about here. Suffice it to say, that, while we don’t want to discourage Russia’s turning towards France (it turns her away from Germany, you see) we don’t want her losing interest in China, and turning her attention once more to India. So the British Government secretly determined to offer the Tsar a massive loan, at one per cent, on the condition that he maintains absolute secrecy. And that was why we called you in, Sir Hamo, to raise an international loan, from private sources, of thirty million pounds. And to our amazement and delight, you never even asked what the
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