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2.
2. I suggest that His Majesty's Government should now await the opening of negotiations by your American colleague with a view to getting some indication of whether the Nanking government are in a position to sign a treaty and whether further difficulties are likely to
Until the arise over the question of reserved areas. American negotiations have given us some such indication it does not seem possible more precisely to decide our
future tactics.
3. As regards the question of reserved areas I agree
that it would be a mistake to abandon the reservation
of Tientsin in what would probably prove a vain effort to improve upon the terms Dr. Wang has tentatively offered for Shanghai. I am endeavouring to dissuade the State
Department from adopting that course.
4. As regards the mandate of May 4th and recent
establishment of Special Court at Shanghai do you think
it would be advisable to address a formal note to the
Chinese government in which you would remind them of their
recent appeal to the Powers not to allow the open flouting
of sacred international pacts, refer to the mandate and the
establishment of the Court and enquire whether it is the
intention of the government to deal with the question of
extraterritoriality by the method of negotiation
Grad
if so
what progress they have made with their negotiations with other Powers, what are their views as to the draft of June 6th and what do they suggest is the next step that you should take? or do you think it would be preferable to make use of such an argument incidentally in the course of negotiations?
5. Please telegraph your considered views on course proposed in paragraph 2 and suggestion in paragraph 4 above.