693.002 Manchuria/41: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chargé in Great Britain (Atherton)
106. Your 127, April 2, noon. Department is studying Foreign Office memorandum communicated in your 126, April 1, 5 p.m. and will reply thereto at earliest possible moment.
Meanwhile, the text of this memorandum confirms the Department’s impression, gained from your reports of previous conversations with the Assistant Secretary of State, that the Foreign Office has not correctly construed the terms of our inquiry.
The major objective which we have had in mind in this connection is preservation of the principles of the Nine-Power Treaty, especially of Article 1. To that end, and in conformity with the position which we took in our identic notes to Japan and China of January 7 and which the League of Nations took in its resolution of March 11,42 it seems to us advisable to refrain from giving any assistance toward or countenancing any steps taken by the Manchuria authorities, whether with or without Japanese instigation or support, in contravention of those principles. The Foreign Office however seems to be thinking rather or primarily of the narrower question of the maintenance of the integrity of the Maritime Customs Administration, even at the price of impairing the more broad position and the principle of non-recognition in relation to de facto developments in and with regard to Manchuria.
[Page 662]Such being our estimate, we believe that, toward making clear the fact that we and they are talking about two different things, and in order that they may clearly understand what we are talking about, as we now understand what they are talking about, it would be well for you to give them the substance of the first two paragraphs and the first sentence of the third paragraph of Department’s 105, April 1, 4 p.m. At the same time, you should inform them of the substance of above and should state that we hope that they will give thought to the major objective which we have in mind, while we take under consideration the objective which is dealt with in their memorandum under reference.
- For text of resolution, see Foreign Relations, Japan, 1931–1941, vol. i, p. 210.↩