893.5045/112
The Secretary of State to the British Chargé (Chilton)
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note No. 684 of July 7, 1925, in regard to the proposal of the Corps Diplomatique at Peking to communicate to the press and to the Chinese Government the findings which they had arrived at as a result of their investigation into the circumstances attending the recent antiforeign riots at Shanghai. Since your note was received the situation has been altered by the proposal of the British Government, which was communicated to me through the American Embassy at London, for the appointment of a commission, consisting of British, French, Japanese and American judges, to hold a judicial inquiry in regard to the riots, to establish and make known the facts, fix the responsibilities and satisfy public opinion in China and abroad. On July 22, 1925, I instructed the American Ambassador at London to inform His Majesty’s Government that this Government was prepared to acquiesce in its proposal for the holding of a judicial inquiry [Page 691] for the purposes above referred to provided the proposed commission should include a Chinese jurist of high standing. I also authorized the Ambassador to express the view that the holding of an inquiry without a Chinese member, or at least without an offer to admit a Chinese to participate, might have an adverse effect upon Chinese opinion, while to hold a judicial investigation in which the Chinese would be given an opportunity to be represented would be a conciliatory gesture which would favorably influence Chinese sentiment and react advantageously upon our relations.
Accept [etc.]