793.003/325: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in China (Johnson)
113. (1) The Department is gratified that the British Minister and you are collaborating, and, with your knowledge concerning the general attitude of the British and American Governments regarding the fundamental desiderata involved, the Department trusts that you may be able to prepare a workable and safe scheme for the gradual abolition of extraterritoriality for submission to Washington and London. It is desired by the Department that, when a tentative project has been produced by you, a synopsis thereof be submitted by radio and a complete copy be sent by the first pouch.
(2) The Department is continuing to work on a draft of new materials for study, but expects not to have further conversation with the Chinese Minister pending receipt and consideration of the synopsis of your project. The Chinese Minister is still at The Hague. The British Minister, it is suggested, may care to submit as soon as possible to his Government your joint tentative project so that it may serve as a discussion basis, thus allowing the British Foreign Office and the Department to harmonize as far as possible whatever is discussed by them separately with the respective Chinese representatives. Of course, it is understood that any suggestion by collaboration which you and the British Minister submit will be purely tentative and will not involve any commitments.
(3) As you know, it is believed by the Department that one of the factors to be kept constantly in mind is to avoid action likely to encourage the Chinese Government to take unilateral action. The Department consequently desires the fact that you are conferring and collaborating with the British Minister not to be permitted to give rise to an impression of the forming of a bloc for identical or united action by the American and another or other governments.
(4) The hope has been expressed by the Netherland Foreign Office that the Department will keep it informed concerning extraterritoriality [Page 418] developments and that you will keep the Netherland Minister in China informed. In conversations here with the Netherland Minister and the Italian Counselor of Embassy, the Department has expressed its views as to criminal jurisdiction and co-judges as was expressed to the British Embassy on March 179a and communicated in No. 97, March 18, 11 a.m.,10 to you. You are authorized, while keeping in mind the reservation as suggested above in paragraph (3), to exchange views and information with your interested colleagues.