Peking, Dec. 15.
The following official summary of the Consortium agreement signed in New York on October 19, by all the delegates of the four banking groups, has just. been received in Peking The agreement begins by cording that the four groups are to have the complete support of their respective Governments, and the preamble indicating the @ttitude of the Consortium towards China records that "'the national groups are of the opinion that the interests of the Chinese people can in sisting circumstances best be served by the ce-operative action. of the various banking groups, representing investment interests of their respective countries, in procuring for the Chinese Government the capital necessary for a Programme of economic reconstruction and improved communications; and that with these objects in view the respective national groups are prepared to partic: pate on equal terms in such undertakings as may be calculated to assist China in the establishment of her great public utilities and to these ends te welcome the ce-operation of Chinese The agreement, the language of which is largely' technical,—contains the following provisions; Under Article 1 each group is to determine the composition of its' own unit, the admission of any new national group being determined by the member groups, subject to the approval of their" respective Governments.
Loans oF Pvstic Cuaracter.
Article 2 provides that the loans to be undertaken by the Consortium shall be only of a public character; that isto say, the Consortium does not plan to invade the field of private initiative, but to confine itself to loans involving public issues made to or on behalf of the Republic of China or any Provinces of the Republic, or to loans guaranteed by the Government or by any one of the Provineial Governments. Concessions. upon which substantial progress has been already made need not necessarily come within the scope of the Consortium.
Freepow axp Equatity.
Articles 3 and 4 provide for complete equality among the groups in all business undertaken by the Consortium, and reserve freedom to each group to decline to partici—pate in any business which it does not desire to undertake.
_Anticle 5 provides that, so far as possible, the parties to any. opera-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.