793.003/5501/10
Memorandum by the Minister in China (Johnson)46
I called on the British Minister this evening and he informed me that he had had his first formal conversation with Dr. C. T. Wang on the subject of the extraterritorial negotiations this morning. He had told Dr. Wang of his instructions and stated that he was ready to discuss the four fundamental principles of evocation, reservation of criminal jurisdiction, co-judges and exclusive areas, upon which no agreement had as yet been reached. He told Dr. Wang that these four principles were of great importance and that the British Government considered them necessary to the success of the gradual and evolutionary process by which the ultimate abolition of extraterritorial rights was to be accomplished.
Dr. Wang told Sir Miles that the Chinese Government could not make concessions regarding these four principles and expressed the fear that a deadlock would result were the British Government to insist upon them. Sir Miles said he did not wish to discuss deadlocks at this stage of the negotiations. He said he desired to take up seriously the question of co-judges and expressed the belief that they could find some mutually satisfactory formula since this was a principle calculated to strengthen the Chinese judicial machinery. Further discussions are to be resumed from this point. It was arranged [Page 745] that Dr. Hsu Mo47 and Mr. Teichman48 were to discuss details regarding guarantees in connection with protection of property rights, taxation, police offenses, bail and imprisonment.
The British Minister and I both agreed that further negotiations would be very difficult if the Minister for Foreign Affairs maintains his present attitude as he appears to be unwilling or unable to offer concessions.
Sir Miles expects to remain in Nanking for the next few days in order to be available for further discussions, but he expects to go to Shanghai on Saturday next for a stay of three or four days.
- Copy transmitted to the Department by the Minister without covering despatch; received April 28. Memorandum reported by the Minister in telegram of March 9, 1931, 3 p.m., from Nanking; received March 9, 9:50 a.m. (793.003/551).↩
- Director of European-American Division of the Chinese Foreign Office.↩
- Eric Teichman, Chinese Secretary of the British Legation in China.↩