Note 9 — Chapter IV · THE SULTAN MORTGAGES HIS EMPIRE

In a letter dated September 30, 1922, to the author Mr. Rechnitzer outlines the situation as follows: “My offer being much more favorable than that of the Germans, it seemed likely in August, 1899, that it would be accepted. Unfortunately the Transvaal War broke out in the autumn of that year, and the German Emperor, a few days after the declaration of war, specially came to London to ask our Government to give him a free hand in Turkey. It appears that there was an interview between the Emperor and Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, who was more interested in Cecil Rhodes’ scheme in Africa than in my scheme in Turkey. As a consequence Sir Nicholas O’Connor was instructed to inform the Turkish Government that the British Government’s support was withdrawn from my offers.” It is only fair to add, however, that there may have been other factors in the situation. The Financial News (London), of August 17, 1899, intimated that Mr. Rechnitzer’s proposal did not have sufficiently strong financial backing; that it was more Austrian than British; that the support of the British Government was more formal than whole-hearted.