893.51/5259: Telegram
The Minister in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
299. Legation’s 296, May 1, 5 p.m., paragraph 2. With reference to the detention of the customs revenues at Tientsin, Gauss has further advised the Legation as follows:
- (a)
- Acting under instructions of General Yen Hsi-shan, the Superintendent of Customs has directed the Bank of Communications, which functions as the customs bank and located in the French Concession, to detain until further notice all customs revenues in excess of the former 5 percent detention [tariff?]. The Commissioner of Customs who was duly notified of this action has referred the matter to the Inspector General at Shanghai. If the Inspector General instructs the Commissioner to remit the revenues, the latter will be under the necessity of directing the customs bank to forward the funds; and the Bank of Communications, a Chinese bank, will face the problem of compliance or refusal. Although the order to the bank calls at present only for the detention of the revenues, it is anticipated that in due course a further order will require the transfer of the funds to General Yen.
- (b)
- If the Shansi authorities are firm, it will be impossible for the bank to disregard the order of detention and it remains to be seen what action Nanking will take. The substitution of a foreign bank for the Bank of Communications would mean a great loss of face for the National Government, and any foreign bank agreeing to serve as the customs bank would be inviting difficulties both for itself and for its national authorities. If on the other hand the Inspector [Page 229] General instructs the Commissioner of Customs himself to collect and hold the revenues, the Shansi authorities will be placed in a difficult position. If they seek to obtain possession of the customshouse by force, they must procure the consent of the French authorities. A solution might be found by establishing a new customshouse and a new customs organization, perhaps in the ex-German Concession.
For the Minister:
Perkins
- Telegram in two sections.↩