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Minister (to which Sir Austen Chamberlain had referred
at the last Meeting of the Cabinet) he was about to
send a telegram asking a number of questions as to the
Japanese attitude. He did not expect to obtain any
considerable results from these questions, but he wished
to show that General Tanaka's remarks had been taken
seriously.
3ir Austen Chamberlain also mentioned that he had
authorised ka sir Miles Lampson to visit Shanghai in
order to ascertain the situation there.
The Cabinet then discussed the proposed withdrawal
of Mr. Newton, the British Representative with the
Provisional Goverment at Hankow, as suggested by Sir
Miles Lampson (Telegram No.832 of May 7th) the
approval to which (by Telegram No.353 of May 9th) had been
held in suspense by a later telegram (No.356 of Way 9th }
pending consideration by the Cabinet.
In this connection the Cabinet were informed that,
if r. Newton was withdrawn, a channel of communication
with the Hankow Goverment would still exist through the
Consul-General.
Attention was drawn to the statement by the
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the House of
Commons on May 9th, and the question was asked as to whether the British Goverment would be precluded