793.003/785: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Consul General at Nanking (Peck)
[Paraphrase]
Washington, December 1, 1931—7
p.m.
129. For the Minister: Your November 2, 1 p.m., from Shanghai, on extraterritoriality.
- (1)
- Regarding the question of resuming our extraterritoriality negotiations, it is the Department’s opinion that it would be well if you seek an early occasion to discuss this matter very informally with the Acting Foreign Minister at Nanking, for the purpose of clarifying the situation and of obtaining an indication as to his attitude thereto. You should refer to the July 14 draft, which was prepared here by the Department and the Chinese Legation, and to your arrangement with C. T. Wang about resuming negotiations in the autumn, an arrangement which was not carried out owing to the turn of events in Manchuria and to Dr. Wang’s resignation as Foreign Minister. If it seems advisable in the course of the conversation, you might suggest that, though you will be authorized if the Acting Minister so desires to resume our negotiations, the Department is inclined to think it would be advisable in the present circumstances to let this whole question remain for the time being in abeyance.
- (2)
- With reference to your despatch No. 1212, October 8, enclosing a copy of your memorandum of conversation on October 5 with Lamp-son,10 in which you report the instructions he had from the British Foreign Office that “subsequent British negotiations would be contingent upon results of American negotiations”, you should discuss this with Lampson and, following your conversation with the Chinese [Page 921] Acting Foreign Minister, inform Lampson of the results. The Department also should be informed.
Stimson
- Not printed.↩