(F 6839/60/10)
BRITISH EMBASSY,
ROME.
zoth October, 1935.
Dear Chaplin,
With reference to our telephone conversation of
today regarding the export of arms to China, I write to
say that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Note No. 235190
of October 4th last (a copy of which was sent to you with
our despatch No. 1174 of October 7th) was duly handed back
to a representative of the Ministry this evening, the Treaty
Department having no objection to our doing this. It can
consequently be regarded as cancelled.
In your despatch No. 99% (F 5538/60/10) of September
2nd, you stated that "The United States Government have
"indicated that they are prepared provisionally to
"accept this measure of control"... It was this phrase
(not of course embodied in our note to the Italian
Government) which led me to suppose that you might be
expecting some similar expression of acquiescence on the
part of the Italian Government. But I gathered from you
on the telephone that it was quite immaterial whether the
Italians agreed or not.
We shall therefore concentrate on impressing on
the Italian Government the desirability, in their own
interests, of adopting the procedure suggested by you
in the last sentence of paragraph z of your despatch No. 99%.
Yours ever,
(Signed) A.N. Noble.
(for Jebb)
J. Chaplin, Esq.,
FOREIGN OFFICE.