693.002/639: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received 5:26 p.m.]
340. Department’s 139, May 4, 5 p.m. Department’s instructions carried out this morning. Dr. Kung informed me that Counselor of British Embassy called on him yesterday and communicated to him a message from British Ambassador to the effect that the Ambassador had no arguments which he cared to advance in rebuttal of statements which Kung had made to him, which I assumed were along the lines of those communicated in my 236, May 4, 1 p.m., but that agreement was temporary and all that could be obtained at the moment, and British Ambassador expressed the hope that Dr. Kung would not actively oppose the agreement. Since November Kung stated that he had asked British Counselor to inform British Ambassador that he appreciated all that the friendly powers had done by their active assistance which they had rendered in the interest of China’s credit and the protection of the Customs Administration, but he wanted to point out that the agreement seemed to have a more important aspect than might seem at first apparent. He referred specifically to the undertakings entered into by the powers in the Nine Power Treaty, reminded the Ambassador that Great Britain had by this treaty undertaken to do nothing to abridge China’s sovereignty or administrative integrity. He wondered whether this agreement meant that the British Government no longer considered the Nine Power Treaty as binding. He stated that the British Counselor demurred to this pointing out that the British Government had taken the initiative in convening the Conference at Brussels under the Nine Power Treaty; that the British Government certainly considered the Nine Power Treaty as binding. Kung then pointed out that the British Government having entered into this undertaking with the Japanese Government, it must watch the Japanese very carefully. He referred to numerous reports that the Japanese or their puppets intended to take over the customs, put up the five barred flag and appoint a superintendent of customs at Shanghai and he said that the British might discover that the Japanese might violate the Nine Power Treaty through their puppets. He said that he had told the British Counselor that he would try not to do anything to oppose the carrying out of the understanding, but that his undertaking to this effect was now contingent upon the Japanese not violating the Nine Power Treaty through the agency of their puppets.
Repeated to Peiping and Shanghai. Shanghai please repeat to Tokyo.