798.94/4005
Memorandum by the Secretary of State
The Portuguese Minister came in to tell me that his Government had sent its note on the subject of the International Settlement to the Japanese Government. Then he went on into a discussion of the situation which he presented with an extreme skeptical view of the Japanese policy. He thought the whole thing was planned; that Japan intended to dominate China; that there had been no division between the Army and the Government and he told me that they themselves were confronted with a serious situation at Macao where they had a colony on the mouth of the West River which runs up to Canton and they were looking forward to possible complications if the Japanese tried an attack on Canton. I told the Minister I thought his ideas were exaggerated of course and that I had the impression the Japanese had all the problem they wanted just at present in Shanghai.