741.94/187
The Consul General at Shanghai (Lockhart) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 20.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that there has been a perceptible stiffening of the attitude of the British authorities in Shanghai vis-à-vis the Japanese during the past month in connection with various incidents which have arisen involving Japanese military or naval units and British subjects or interests.
[Page 186]On April 26, the British merchant vessel S. S. Tungwo was boarded by the Japanese military and compelled to proceed to Tsungming Island, at the mouth of the Yangtze River. The vessel was held there for twenty-four hours, notwithstanding immediate and repeated protests made by the British consular authorities. The vessel was finally released following very strong representations to the Japanese authorities and the dispatch of H. M. S. Cricket to Tsungming Island with orders to stand by until the S. S. Tungwo was released.
On May 2, the British merchant vessel S. S. Kingyuan was stopped while proceeding down river from Shanghai and boarded by a party of Japanese gendarmes who detained the vessel for two hours and thoroughly searched her before permitting her to proceed. The local British authorities are understood to have made strong representations concerning this further instance of the unauthorized boarding and search of a British merchant vessel and to have pointed out that such action was in complete disregard of British rights and the “Gentlemen’s Agreement” reached between the British and Japanese Governments at the commencement of the Japanese blockade whereby it was agreed that Japanese naval vessels should be permitted to ascertain the right of a vessel to fly the British flag provided that no British naval vessel was in the vicinity at the time.
On May 13, Mr. E. S. Wilkinson, a well known British resident and local naturalist who was out walking in the early morning in the Hungjao district and observing bird life, was not only arrested by Japanese soldiers but was also assaulted and stabbed in the back. He was held for twelve hours by the Japanese military authorities and all attempts to see him and effect his release, including an attempt made in person by General Telfer Smollett, Commandant of the British Defense Forces, were ineffectual. British consular and diplomatic authorities made repeated representations throughout the day and eventually brought about his release. The local British authorities, including the British Ambassador who had just returned to Shanghai, took a serious view of this incident in which a British subject was without apparent reason or provocation set upon and stabbed by Japanese soldiers and held incommunicado for twelve hours. A strong formal protest was lodged with the Japanese authorities here by the British Consul General and the British Ambassador is understood to have made use of strong and forthright language in writing informally to Mr. Tani, the senior Japanese diplomatic officer in China. Strong representations were understood to have been made also in Tokyo by the British Ambassador. The British are understood to have demanded a formal apology, compensation for the injuries sustained by Mr. Wilkinson arid specific information regarding the disciplinary action taken against the soldiers responsible for the assault.
[Page 187]In discussing these cases with the British consular authorities in Shanghai the definite impression has been gained that both the oral and written representations concerning these incidents have been couched in much stronger language than has been the case heretofore and that in general the attitude of the British authorities has stiffened.
Another instance of the stronger policy apparently being followed by the British authorities in local affairs is to be found in the action of the British military authorities in suddenly commencing to patrol Nanking Road and the Louza district of the central area. The first occasion on which British military patrols appeared was May 1 when a bomb exploded on Nanking Road just after a Japanese naval truck had passed. About an hour later Japanese soldiers and gendarmes commenced patrolling Nanking Road in considerable force. British troops were thereupon also dispatched to the scene of the incident and remained on patrol “to protect the Japanese patrols” it was explained by British military headquarters, until the Japanese troops and gendarmes had been withdrawn. Since then British troops have regularly patrolled Nanking Road and the Louza district. In this connection it is of interest to note that this sector was taken over from the Shanghai Volunteer Corps by the British Defense Forces following the demobilization of the former last year and that theoretically the latter are responsible for the defense of this area and to some extent responsible also for the maintenance of peace and good order. However, heretofore the British have made no effort to patrol this area and have in fact studiously avoided assuming any responsibility for this area notwithstanding the fact that a considerable number of incidents occurred therein in which the Japanese military acted with little regard for the rights of the International Settlement or the peace and security of its residents.
It is felt, therefore, that the dispatch of British patrols into this area since the first of May is of considerable significance and is a further indication that the British authorities here propose to show a firmer attitude in dealing with the Japanese authorities concerning matters affecting British interests in the Shanghai area. Some observers connect this firming of the British attitude with the conclusion of the accord between the British and Italian Governments on April sixteenth.52
Respectfully yours,
- See Vol. i, pp. 133 ff.↩