Even distinguished former foreign secretaries such as Jack Straw and Sir Malcolm Rifkind might be forgiven for having forgotten the treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo. It is a notable document, and not only because it determined that California would be part of the US, rather than a province of Mexico. Its signing triggered one of the lobbying industry’s earliest controversies — telling, perhaps, in the week two parliamentarians were caught in an undercover sting offering to help fictitious corporate interests in return for cash.
即便是杰克•斯特劳(Jack Straw)和马尔科姆•里夫金德爵士(Sir Malcolm Rifkind)这两位优秀的前外交大臣，也可能忘记《瓜达卢佩-伊达尔戈条约》(Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo)。这是一份著名的文件，不仅是因为它决定了加利福尼亚将是美国的一部分、而非墨西哥的一个省。它的签署还引发了游说行业最早的争议之一——在最近上述两名议员被曝为了金钱而愿意帮助媒体设局的虚构企业利益之际，这件事或许是说明问题的。