Office of the Historian

893.801 Search/45: Telegram

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

Washington, July 22, 1931—1 p.m.

238. Your 397, July 8, 4 p.m. While the United States adheres to the generally recognized rule of international law that the territorial jurisdiction of a nation over its marginal sea does not extend beyond 1 league from the low water mark on its coast, the laws of the United States confer jurisdiction, for certain purposes, on certain designated officials, with respect to vessels outside the territorial jurisdiction of the United States. See Section 2760 of the Revised Statutes65 and Sections 581 and 586 of the Tariff Act of 1930.66

The Department is of the opinion that the reservations already made by the Legation are adequate for the present and accordingly no protest need be made to the declaration of the Chinese Government quoted in your telegram.

Castle
  1. Rev. Stat. sec. 2760, p. 535.↩
  2. Approved June 17, 1930; 46 Stat. 590, 747, 749.↩