File No. 341.622a/135
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Page) to the Secretary of State
[Received 1.50 p. m.]
4320. Your 3320, May 15, 4 p. m., was sent before you received my 4314, May 16, 6 p. m. In view of the positive assertion by Sir Edward Grey [Page 646] that the British authorities in the Orient had definite knowledge that some of the men taken from the China were incorporated in the armed forces of the enemies of Great Britain, and in view of his promise to confer with the First Lord of the Admiralty and give an answer to your 3318,1 May 15, noon, I hope I may be allowed to withhold your 33201 until his answer to your 3318 is received.
He has never questioned the principle involved. He is not disposed to be contentious. If he had known when he promised to release all these men what he has since learned about the status of some of them, he would not have promised to release them all. If we press for the release of all before reports from British authorities in the Far East are received, we may be faced with positive proof that we demanded the release of men incorporated in armed forces and find ourselves in the position of having insisted injudiciously on the fulfilment of Sir Edward Grey’s verbal promise. I fear that there is danger of this awkward position since the British authorities of the Orient are said definitely to have known this fact at the time of seizure. Since the principle for which we contend is not questioned, I respectfully suggest that while persisting in our demand for the immediate release of the undoubted civilians we suspend the demand [for] the others until documents arrive from the Orient. On this point I await further instructions. I venture the foregoing suggestion in view of the conciliatory tone of the Brtish Government in all our controversies since the war began and fear that the contrary course may work to our disadvantage in the future.