Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1932, The Far East, Volume IV

693.002 Manchuria/112: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Mellon)

Washington , June 25, 1932—2 p.m.

183. Department’s 169, June 4, 1 p.m.,⁷⁵ and 176, June 11, 1 p.m.

1. Under date June 21, Minister Johnson reported from Peiping that the Japanese Government had instructed its Chargé to ask the American, British and French representatives to cooperate with the Japanese Chargé in exerting pressure upon the Chinese Government to enter into arrangements with the Manchuria régime with regard to the Chinese customs in Manchuria. Minister Johnson referred this matter to the Department for instructions and on June 24 I telegraphed Minister Johnson that I did not desire that he cooperate with his Japanese colleague in this matter. This was in line with the attitude expressed in the Department’s telegram 113, April 7, 3 p.m., to you⁷⁶ stating that “Any assistance which foreign powers may give toward bringing about a compromise arrangement between the present Manchuria administration and the Nanking Government must in effect amount to a contribution to the cause of the Manchuria administration and thus to the cause of any and all who are endeavoring to make Manchuria a separate state. Acquisition by the Manchuria administration of an annual revenue in the amount of some 20 million dollars (sequestered from customs receipts which belong to China) would contribute substantially toward the success of the effort which is being made to sever Manchuria from China. That effort is in plain disregard of the declared views, policies, rights or interests of various governments and the recent resolutions of the League.”

2. You will recall that in the Department’s telegram No. 88, March 11, 1 p.m.,⁷⁷ the Department requested that you take up with the British Foreign Office the question of possible action that might be taken with regard to the disruption of the Chinese Customs service in Manchuria; that subsequent to that time views on the subject of the disruption of the customs and other Chinese administrative services in Manchuria have been exchanged between the Department and the British Foreign Office and between me and Sir John Simon (Department’s 156, May 27, 4 p.m.⁷⁸); that in your telegram 189, May 31, 11 a.m., you reported that the Foreign Secretary stated that he would immediately ask the Foreign Office to prepare a statement of its views for transmission to us; that in the Department’s telegram 169, June 4, 1 p.m., I stated that I should be glad to receive the statement of the British Foreign Office. Up to the present I have not received that statement.

3. The most recent reports from China indicate that the question of the Chinese customs in Manchuria has become acute. The Chinese Minister for Finance has issued statements pointing out the gravity of the present situation. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent us a note drawing attention to the serious situation arising from seizures and threats affecting the position and interest of the Chinese Maritime Customs in Manchuria and requesting that the American Government make appropriate representations to the Japanese Government in view of the critical situation and of the fact that the American Government is party to the Washington Conference Nine-Power Treaties. I assume that the British Foreign Office has received information similar to that received by the Department and that the British Government has also been requested by the Chinese Government to make representations to Japan. On June 10, I expressed concern to the Japanese Ambassador here with regard to maintenance of the integrity of the Chinese Customs Administration in Manchuria. (See Department’s 176, June 11, 1 p.m.) On Diplomatic Day, on June 23, the Japanese Ambassador, during his call, brought up the question of the customs in Manchuria and I took occasion to remind him of the importance which he and I had given to the League Resolution of December 10 appointing the Commission of Inquiry, and I suggested that it would be a good plan to leave this question of the customs until the Commission of Inquiry had made its report.

4. In view of the present gravity of the situation, I desire that you present this whole situation to the British Foreign Office and say that I should be very glad to receive as soon as practicable an indication of the attitude which the Foreign Office purposes to take.

Stimson

75. Not printed.
76. Vol. iii, p. 673.
77. ibid., p. 562.
78. Not printed.