"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.
15
124-
FROM CHINA
De cypher.
Mr. Howe (Shanghai).
1st February 1933.
D.
(By Wireless) 1st February 1933.
R.
6.00 p.m. 1st February 1938.
No. 216.
Tokyo telegra No. 123.
I discussed the question of navigation on the Yangtse today with
Mr. Prideaux Brune, Commander of His Majesty's Ship "Bee" (both of whom
returned from Nanking yesterday) and Senior Naval Officer, Shanghai.
Both Mr. Prideaux Brune and Commander Armstrong expressed view that
trade in whole rea between Kiangyin and Wuhu was dead (with the excep-
tion of a small business in salt produced from Kowan) and that despatch
of merchant vessels into this area could not be justified on purely
commercial grounds, while on practical grounds it was undesirable to
force the issue merely to assert our right to passage since we should
be causing friction with military authorities which made it difficult to
safeguard our other interests in the Yangtse valley.
In view of these considerations and in view of the fact that our
right to navigate the Yangtse has been reely admitted by the Japanese
we reached the conclusion that it would be wise for the time being not
to attempt to arrange for a weekly service as contemplated in my telegram
No. 18 to Nanking or on definite dates as suggested in your telegram No.
100 but to confine ourselves to arranging for such visits as might
genuinely be necessary for purposes of salvage or other special purposes.
Addressed to Foreign Office No. 216, of February 1st, repeated to
Tokyo and Nanking.