893.5045/259: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Houghton)
355. Department’s No. 236, July 22, 2 p.m. Your No. 274, August 27, 1 p.m. Department’s No. 272, August 21, 5 p.m. and subsequent [Page 718] telegrams regarding appointment of Judicial Commission to inquire into Shanghai incident.
It now appears that the Judicial Commission has completed its labors and that the three Judges have submitted separate reports to the Diplomatic Body at Peking. The Department is informed that while the reports of the British and Japanese Judges agree in exonerating police and municipal authorities, the American Judge, while holding that police had no alternative but to fire in the circumstances which arose, considers that they were at fault in having allowed such a necessity to arise, and that he recommends that McEuen, whom he finds not to have had a proper appreciation of his responsibility in the maintenance of peace and good order within his jurisdiction, be succeeded by one whose performance of duty shall be more nearly commensurate with his very high responsibilities.
The Department is informed by the Legation at Peking32 that on November 27 the British, Japanese, and American Ministers telegraphed their respective Consuls in Shanghai outlining the differences in the findings of the Judicial Commission and stating among other things that in order to prevent spreading of mischievous and imaginary statements in the newspapers and among the Chinese, the Senior Minister considered that it would be necessary in the near future to make a statement to the press regarding the findings of the Judicial Commission prior to circulation and consideration by the Diplomatic Body of the reports, which are very lengthy, and prior to their eventual publication which will be unavoidable. The American Consul was instructed that he should, in consultation with his British and Japanese colleagues suggest privately and confidentially to their respective nationals on the Municipal Council the urgent desirability of their spontaneously announcing to the Senior Consul that now that inquiry has been held they do not wish to take advantage of any difference of opinion but prefer to take steps in the direction of settlement by offering generous compensations to the victims, both killed and injured and by devising ways of dispensing with the services of the police commissioner and of the officers actively involved in the incident.
The Department is informed33 that the British Minister at Peking has informed the American Minister that his Government is withholding authorization for its Consul General at Shanghai to proceed in above manner pending fuller information as to the points on which the reports of the three Judges agree and disagree. The American Minister also reports that the Japanese Minister, at an informal meeting with the British and Dutch Ministers and himself, informed [Page 719] them that, “On November 27 Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs had told British Ambassador that since the reports were not unanimous there was in effect no decision resulting from Judicial inquiry and that he was therefore strongly of the opinion that it would be inadvisable to publish the reports and thus give occasion for the Chinese to play on differences among the interested Powers and that the British Ambassador had concurred.” The American Minister reports that the Japanese Minister promised to urge upon his Government the view of this Government that the terms of reference themselves contemplated the possibility of a divided Court and that it was our profound conviction that it would prove utterly impossible to prevent leakage of the substance of the reports and that the attempt to suppress or edit them would only act infinitely more unfavorably upon foreign interests in China.
The above is communicated to you for your information and such use as you care to make of it in discussing matter with British Foreign Office. You will state to the Foreign Office that while it is regrettable that the Commission should have disagreed in its findings this Government feels that it would be most disastrous at the present time, in the face of conditions now existing in China, for the Powers to repeat the procedure which followed the investigation made into the Shanghai incident by the Committee representing the Diplomatic Body in July and to suppress, edit or delay the publication of the findings of the Judicial Commission. Already there has appeared in the press, both in China and in the United States, intimation to the effect that the Powers will refuse to give these reports to the press. You will state to the British Foreign Office that this Government does not feel that it should permit itself to share in the odium of a virtual repudiation of the results of the inquiry which has been publicly conducted by three Judges appointed at the request of the Diplomatic Body. You may add that, howsoever much we may regret the necessity of so doing, this Government will for its part feel obliged, even though there may be no agreement about the publishing of the three reports, to publish the report of the American Judge in the near future.34
- Telegram printed supra.↩
- By telegram No. 509, Dec. 2, from the Minister in China (not printed).↩
- By telegram No. 150, Dec. 3, the Ambassador in Japan was authorized to bring to the attention of the Japanese Foreign Office the views expressed by the Minister in China in the fourth paragraph of his telegram No. 509, Dec. 2, to the Department, which are substantially the same as the views embodied in this paragraph. (File No. 893.5045/259.)↩