893.00 Nanking/79
The British Ambassador (Howard) to the Secretary of State57
Sir: I have the honour to inform you that I am today in receipt of a telegraphic communication from His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, requesting me to convey to the United States Government a general explanation of the views of His Majesty’s Government in regard to the situation resulting from the presentation of identic notes to the Cantonese Government on the subject of the Nanking outrages.
His Majesty’s Government are of opinion that in the event of failure to satisfy the demands put forward in the notes in question, the application of sanctions should devolve upon all five of the interested Powers. His Majesty’s Government cannot but believe that, in the event of such failure to comply with their just demands, the Governments of the other interested Powers will insist upon that measure of redress which they have thought it necessary to claim, seeing that otherwise all violent elements in China would be encouraged to defy the Powers and to continue to outrage their nationals and representatives. In the face of this common peril, His Majesty’s Government most earnestly hope that the union of the five Powers may be preserved for they see in this union the best hope of preserving the peace and protection of rights in which all the Powers are equally interested.
With the above object in view, His Majesty’s Representative at Peking has been instructed to endeavor to secure agreement among the Ministers of the five interested Powers on the following points: (a) acceptability or otherwise of the reply which the Cantonese will eventually return to the identic notes; (b) the character of sanctions to be applied in the event of failure to satisfy the conditions of redress put forward in the identic notes; (c) the time limit to be allowed for compliance with these conditions. Should it eventually prove necessary to proceed with the application of sanctions, His Majesty’s Government are prepared to act in concert with the United States and [Page 192] Japanese Governments even if the assent of the French and Italian Governments in the application of such sanctions cannot be secured. Finally, I am to add that should it unhappily prove impossible to obtain agreement between the interested powers regarding the measures to be adopted to meet a refusal of redress on the part of the Cantonese Government, His Majesty’s Government will reserve to themselves their liberty to take such action as they may deem necessary in the circumstances.
I have [etc.]