This Document is the Property of His Britannic Majesty's Government, and should be
returned to the Foreign Office If not required for official use.
55
JAPAN
De cypher.
Sir J. Hlley. (Tokyo).
December 7th, 1926.
D.
R.
1.20.p.m. December 7th, 1926. 10.15.a.m. December 7th, 1926.
20
No. 159.
12114
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Your telegram No. 352 to Peking.
I gather that recognition of Canton is under serious consideration but that your intention is that before anything in the nature of a promise is given Japan and other Powers shall be informed.
In view of numerous press rumours it might be well if I told Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs that we should so inform him if we had come to any decision and ask him if we might assume that he would do the same. Even if Japanese government took this as meaning that our minds were made up and recognized Canton themselves they could not deprive us of the credit of being the first to negotiate seeing that His Majesty's Minister appears to have interviewed members of Canton government and our own recognition could presumably be practically simultaneous. Addressed to Foreign Office No. 159. Repeated to Peking.