793.003/781: Telegram

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

[Paraphrase]

709. My 592, September 17, 1 p.m. Yesterday I saw Lampson who read to me his Government’s message stating that the British Government was not ready to agree to the trading of Tientsin for a new proposal regarding Shanghai, yet at the same time it believed that the American negotiations regarding Shanghai should go ahead with a view to finding out the Chinese attitude on this question. It is our understanding that the British Government is communicating with you in this regard.

Johnson