893.01/165
The Netherland Minister (De Graeff) to the Secretary of State
The Netherland Minister presents his compliments to the Honorable, the Secretary of State, and has the honor to inform him that the Minister of Foreign Affairs at The Hague has learned from Her Royal Majesty’s Minister at Peking that the diplomatic representatives there of the nine Powers signatory to the Treaty of Washington being afraid for another coup d’état with the purpose of establishing a soviet government in China are of the opinion that it would be serviceable to lend their moral support to the actual provisional Government of China by declaring that their respective Governments for that reason desire to carry out the measures stipulated in the said treaty and in the resolutions which with regard to China have been agreed upon at the time of the Washington Conference.
Jonkheer van Karnebeek has instructed me to point out to the Secretary of State that the Royal Government at no time has opposed against the carrying out of the said measures but that it seems to him that at the present time a declaration as has been planned will be considered as a proof of weakness and not only will not lead to any desirable result but will be even hurtful to the preparations of the Powers.
[Page 434]The Minister of Foreign Affairs at The Hague being very anxious to learn the opinion of the American Government in this matter, Jonkheer de Graeff would highly appreciate if Mr. Hughes would be kind enough to give him the desired information at his earliest convenience.