793.003 C 73/5a: Circular telegram

The Secretary of State to the Diplomatic Representatives in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Brazil, and Peru

The Conference on the Limitation of Armament adopted on December 10, 1921, a Resolution providing that the participating Governments “shall establish a Commission (to which each of such Governments shall appoint one member) to inquire into the present practice of extraterritorial jurisdiction in China, and into the laws and the judicial system and the methods of judicial administration of China, with a view to reporting to the Governments of the several Powers above named their findings of fact in regard to these matters, and their recommendations as to such means as they may find suitable to improve the existing conditions of the administration of justice in China, and to assist and further the efforts of the Chinese Government to effect such legislation and judicial reforms as would warrant the several Powers in relinquishing, either progressively or otherwise, their respective rights of extraterritoriality”; and that the Commission “shall be constituted within three months after the adjournment of the Conference in accordance with detailed arrangements to be hereafter agreed upon by the Governments of the Powers above named, and shall be instructed to submit its report and recommendations within one year after the first meeting of the Commission.” An additional Resolution adopted at the same time provided that the nonsignatory Powers, having by treaty extraterritorial rights in China, may accede to the resolution by depositing within three months after the adjournment of the Conference a written notice of accession with the Government of the United States for communication by it to each of the signatory Powers.95

You are instructed to communicate the above to the Government to which you are accredited and in so doing you will explain, in connection with the time limit of three months referred to in the principal resolution and in the additional resolution, that the Chinese [Page 824] Government has requested that the investigation be postponed until the fall of 1923 and has further requested this Government to circularize the participating Governments inquiring whether such postponement is agreeable to them. You may state that this Government has no objection to the postponement if other Governments concerned also have no objection.

You will inquire whether the Government to which you are accredited desires to adhere to the Resolution.

Hughes
  1. For text of additional resolution, see p. 291.