793.94/1865: Telegram
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Dawes) to the Secretary of State
[Received September 24—12:35 p.m.]
385. I called on Lord Reading62 in order to get information on the Manchurian situation for you. He said that at Lord Cecil’s suggestion by telephone from Geneva he cabled a message to the Japanese Government to supplement the communication already dispatched by the League; he said that France, Germany, and Italy had done likewise. Beading’s own impression, based upon official information, is that the situation now is less disquieting, the disturbance being at [Page 58] least kept local. This he qualified with the statement that his news was somewhat conflicting and therefore could not serve as a basis for too firm an opinion. Regarding the position of the Soviet Union, he thought they looked upon the situation as local, and this was natural, since Japan still has, despite the reinforcement of its Army by the last 4,000 men, a smaller number of troops in Manchuria than is allowed by treaty. However, Reading also stated that in his judgment the Soviet Union would unquestionably be concerned if the continued activities of even this Japanese force, reportedly accompanied by a movement of Japanese ships to a strategic point, described by the Japanese as merely coincidental, should indicate Japanese pursuance of a plan of conquest. While it had been intimated to Reading that there might possibly be some secret understanding between the Japanese and the Soviets concerning a joint division and occupation of Manchuria, he regarded this idea as unfounded. In case the press despatch published this morning proves correct in regard to the withdrawal of Japanese troops and the alleged attitude of Japan, Reading is not particularly apprehensive of the situation.
- British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.↩