693.002 Manchuria/191: Telegram
The Minister in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 13—9:10 a.m.]
800. Legation’s 796, July 12, 3 p.m. Mukden written despatch No. 618 of July 5th92 just received states the long expected taking over of the Chinese Maritime Customs in Manchuria by the Manchukuo authorities was at last accomplished during the week just ended. In the week preceding they forced the depositary banks to hand over the funds that had been accumulated since April, when the banks were instructed to discontinue remittance to Shanghai.
It seems probable that the situation which developed at Dairen following the dismissal by the Inspector General of Customs of Mr. Fukumoto, the Commissioner at that port, hastened the taking over of the customs at other ports.
Customshouse at Antung was taken over by force on June 29th. Bank of Chosen, an official Japanese organization and customs depositary at Antung, handed over customs deposits to the Changchun authorities after the question had been referred to Tokyo. Customs at Newchwang was formally taken over on June 27th by force. Customshouses at Lungchingtsun and Hunchun in the Chientao area were taken over on June 29th by the Manchukuo authorities. Mukden reports that smuggling from Korea into Antung which had become an organized business after the incident of September 18th was effectively stopped in April of this year but states that it is significant that the Japanese authorities took steps to put an end to this illegal traffic at about the time the Manchurian authorities ordered the cessation of remittances of customs funds Shanghai.
- Not printed.↩