Mr. Porter to
Mr. Hay.
Embassy of the United States,
Paris, June 27, 1900.
No. 680.]
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of
your cable of the 22d acquainting me with your conversation with the
Chinese minister at Washington and instructing me to convey its
substance to the minister of foreign affairs. This was done on the
23d and under date of the 25th I received a reply from Mr. Delcassé,
* * * a copy of which is herewith inclosed.
I have the honor to be, etc.,
[Page 312]
[Inclosure.—Translation.]
M. Delcassé
to Mr. Porter.
Mr. Ambassador: By a note dated the 23d
of this month your excellency was good enough to make known to
me, by direction of your Government, the substance of the
declaration which the Chinese minister at Washington had
recently addressed to the Secretary of State of the Union
relative to the measures taken for the security of Europeans in
the valley of the Yang-tse Kiang River. The Chinese
representative expressed on this occasion the hope that the
Government of the United States would consent to counsel the
other powers to abstain from sending ships or military forces
into this region.
In reply to this communication, for which I thank you, I can
only, at this time, make mention of the resolution taken by the
Government of the Republic to allow the greatest latitude to the
commanders of the forces in the Far East to judge on the
suitability or the necessity of sending ships of war to one part
or another of the coast of China. A decision in regard to this
matter would require a quantity of local information which seems
to us impossible to weigh properly at such a distance. * * *
