Foreign Relations of the United States, Diplomatic Papers, 1938, The Far East, Volume III

893.51 Salt Funds/223

The Ambassador in China (Johnson) to the Secretary of State

No. 107

Chungking, December 19, 1938.
[Received March 2, 1939.]

Sir: For the documentation of the Department’s files I have the honor to enclose copies of the following documents²⁶ that have been handed to the Embassy.

1. Copy of a Memorandum dated October 13, 1938, from the British Consul General at Chungking to the Minister of Finance transmitting an offer of the British Government, through the British Ambassador, to attempt to obtain the consent of the Japanese Government to a temporary modus vivendi whereby salt revenues for loan services and the present administration of the salt revenue would not be intered [interfered?] with. The offer was accompanied by an expression of opinion that the Japanese would hardly negotiate on this subject so long as the Anglo-Japanese Customs Agreement had not been brought into force.

2. Copy of a letter from Mr. J. D. Greenway, Secretary of the British Embassy, dated November 23, 1938, asking for a reply to the communication listed above.

3. Copy of letter dated December 7, 1938, from the Minister of Finance to Mr. Greenway expressing the opinion that it would be inopportune to undertake negotiations with the Japanese authorities toward the object proposed while the customs question remained unsettled, but asking that the British Government continue its efforts to prevent measures by the Japanese prejudicial to salt affairs.

Respectfully yours,

For the Ambassador:

Willys R. Peck

26. None printed.