Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1929, Volume II

893.05/177: Telegram

The Minister in China ( MacMurray ) to the Secretary of State

[Paraphrase]

Peiping , November 6, 1929—5 p.m.
[Received November 6—10:10 a.m.]

965. Reference your 360, November 2, 11 p.m.

(1) The Shanghai Consular Corps negotiated and signed the 1926 rendition agreement which now is under revision. As a matter of course, my interested colleagues are appointing as delegates their respective Consuls General at Shanghai for the purpose of the forthcoming negotiations. The omission from the American delegation of Consul General Cunningham, who is also the Senior Consul at Shanghai, would be very conspicuous, even apart from any question as to his invaluable capacity for these negotiations, and could not help leading to misunderstandings that would be detrimental to our purposes. I beg, therefore, to renew my request to be authorized to designate Cunningham as a delegate.

(2) The procedure which you suggest in your paragraph (4) may well prove to be found adaptable to a situation which is developed during the course of actual negotiations. However, I venture to submit that, judging from my own experience with Chinese negotiations, conditions for a successful settlement are much more favorable when the negotiator, though fully informed by his Government of its essential objectives, is left unencumbered by directions in detail regarding procedure and tactical methods and is permitted freedom of action to avail himself of the opportunities which are presented in the course of discussion. Accordingly I would urge that the American delegates be acquainted with the special apprehension which underlies your paragraph (4), but be clearly authorized to treat the matter at their discretion.

MacMurray