793.94/5966
The British Embassy to the Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
On January 23rd an aide-mémoire was left at the State Department39 recording the view of His Majesty’s Government that it would be desirable that the Powers signatories of the Boxer Protocol should represent in a friendly manner to the Japanese Government their [Page 217] anxiety that the régime set up by this protocol, in which they are directly interested, should be observed independently of any condition arising out of the Sino-Japanese conflict. The French, Italian, Spanish, Belgian and Netherlands Governments had been similarly approached.
The views of the United States Government on this proposal were recorded in the State Department’s aide-mémoires numbered 793.94/5794 of January 24th and February 1st [January 31st].40 These were duly conveyed to His Majesty’s Government. Sir Ronald Lindsay has now been informed by His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs that in view of the lack of unanimity with which their proposal has been received and in view of the changed situation, His Majesty’s Government are not disposed, as at present advised, to pursue the proposed policy of representations to the Japanese Government. In conveying this information to the Government of the United States Sir Ronald Lindsay has been instructed to add that the other Governments concerned have been similarly informed.