793.94/3485: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Edge) to the Secretary of State
[Received 6:22 p.m.]
21. In a conversation which the Counsellor of the Embassy had this morning with the Chief of the Far Eastern Section of the Foreign Office the question of the Manchurian situation came up and reference [Page 22] was made to the recent American note to the Japanese and Chinese Governments and to what if any action France proposed to take in the premises.
Monsieur Naggiar said that the Belgian Embassy had recently asked the Foreign Office what reply they proposed to make on the American Government’s suggestion that the other powers signatory to the Nine-Power Treaty send notes to the Chinese Government and the Japanese Government in the same sense as the American note. Naggiar said that the Foreign Office had replied to the Belgian Embassy that no such request had been made to the French Government by the United States Government. He added that the Foreign Office had telegraphed Claudel to ask whether such a request had been made of him and that a reply had been received that no request either official or unofficial had been made20 but that meeting you informally at a dinner you had referred to the matter expressing the hope that the French Government might take similar action. Naggiar said that on January 3 last following the taking of Chinchow the French Government had proposed at Washington and London that further démarches be made divided along the lines of the representations made by the three Ambassadors on December 23 but that neither Washington nor London had felt such a move at that time advisable. He was of course au courant of the communiqué issued by the British Foreign Office on January 9 to the effect that the British were not joining with us and indicated that in view of the British stand he did not think that the French could very well agree to join in with the American proposal even if made. He went on to say however for our confidential information that Briand was for the moment considering whether some form of statement should not be made by the President of the Council of the League of Nations to Japan and China making reference to the resolution of the Council of December 10th last. This is merely under discussion however and Naggiar particularly requested that no mention be made of it. It was made plain to Naggiar that the Embassy had received no instructions to take up the matter and was merely interested in learning the French Government’s views.