142
[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.]
51
From CHI.
Decypher. Sir M. Lampson (anking)
Unnumbered
April 18, 1931.
D. April 18, 1931.
R. April 21, 1931.
Tour.
-
(group undooypherable).
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 agrosd to ( group undecypherable a greeably surprised.
(2) There was considerable anxiety as regards 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.