[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.]

40

134

From CHINA.

Decypher. Bir 1. Lampson

(Fenking)

April 13, 1931.

D.

April 18, 1931.

Unnumbered

R. April 21, 1931.

Tour.

(group undecypherable).

On April 16th I explained the position on extraterri-

toriality to representatives of the British community at

Tientsin. They seemed on the whole well satisfied and even agreed to group undecypherable).

(2) There was considerable cmisty as rogards the fate of Tientsin itself and genuine alarm at continued press rumours

current to the effect that Tientsin may be sacrificed to

secure reservation of Shanghai. They pressed me for an

indication of our irreducible minimum.

(3) Choosing my language very carefully I said speaking

for myself I felt strongly that the least we could possibly agree to was Shanghai and Tientsin and that I had reason to

believe that some of my foreign colleagues shared my view;

but I added that it was not I but His Majesty's Government

who would have to docide if it came to the point.

Addressed to Foreign Office unnumbered of April 18

repeated to Poking.

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