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laid special stress on the undesirability of the utilisation of the Chinese customs service for the imposition of purely military measures, in connexion with the communication made by the de facto authorities at Nanking to the Shanghai Commissioner of Customs regarding the clearance of vessels for certain places in the zone of military operations.
Detention of Colonel Spear,
205. Colonel Spear, military attaché to His Majesty's Embassy in China, was arrested by the Japanese military authorities on the 26th May in the neigh- bourhood of Kalgan. Colonel Spear had been travelling in the areas occupied by the Chinese forces and on the 18th May, as soon as it became known that he wished to proceed to Peking, the Japanese authorities had been notified accordingly. Lieutenant Cooper, a language officer who had proceeded to meet Colonel Spear after requesting the necessary passes, was also arrested on the 26th May, but released after some days of detention.
206. On the 1st June the available information was communicated to the Japanese General Staff by the assistant military attaché to His Majesty's Embassy, who received an assurance that he would be given early advice of any reports received on the subject. On the 5th June the military attaché was informed that investigations were proceeding regarding the reason for Colonel Spear's presence in the war zone. The question was taken up on the 10th June by His Majesty's Ambassador, who made an oral statement to the Minister for Foreign Affairs deprecating the unjustifiable allegations of espionage which had been made against Colonel Spear, drawing attention to the strong public indig- nation which the case must inevitably inspire in Great Britain, and urging that the matter, in view of its wide political implications, should not be left exclusively to the decision of the military authorities in Kalgan. Further enquiries regarding the detention and treatment of Colonel Spear were made of the General Staff by the military attaché and assistant military attaché on the 13th, 14th, 18th and 19th June, while His Majesty's Ambassador renewed his representations to the Minister for Foreign Affairs on the 17th June.
Anti-British Agitation in Shanghai.
207. On the 6th June His Majesty's Ambassador drew the attention of the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs to disorders which had occurred in British- owned mills in Shanghai, to the absence of steps by the Japanese authorities to preserve law and order there, and to the anti-British agitation organised in areas in China under Japanese control. Sir Robert Craigie urged strongly that, if in fact an agitation of this kind was being encouraged in certain Japanese quarters, early steps should be taken to discontinue such dangerous activities.
208. The disorders in question took a more serious turn on the same day when Mr. Tinkler, a British employee of the firm concerned, became involved in a dispute with the strikers, and subsequently with Japanese marines who inter- vened, and, after threatening the latter with his revolver, received wounds from which he died the following day. The matter was taken up in a letter from His Majesty's Ambassador to the Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, dated the 12th June, stating that His Majesty's Government must hold the Japanese Government responsible for Mr. Tinkler's death, and again requesting early steps to put a stop to the anti-British agitation. In an official note dated the 17th June Sir Robert Craigie protested strongly against the violence and subsequent obstruction and negligence on the part of the Japanese authorities which had resulted in the death of a British subject. The note reserved all rights on behalf of His Majesty's Government, including the right to claim compensation. The Japanese press, however, published statements by naval spokesmen which attributed the incident to the provocative attitude of Mr. Tinkler.
Anglo-French Defence Conference at Singapore.
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209. The commanders of the principal British and French military and naval forces in the Far East met at Singapore on the 22nd June to discuss the co-ordination of defence measures in case of need. The conclusions reached during the discussions were not yet known to His Majesty's Embassy by the end of the month.
The Views of Colonel Hashimoto.
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210. Colonel Kingoro Hashimoto, president of the Dai Nippon Young Men's party, writing in the June issue of the Chuo Koron, states that the question of the settlement of the China incident hinges on Great Britain, and that the key to the incident lies in the determination of Japan to deal resolutely with British opposition. This, however, need not involve an armed clash. The ordinary way of British diplomacy goes to suggest that the firmness of resolution and attitude of the Japanese people will cause, in the long run, Britain to give up her interference with Japan's national policy." The colonel adds that the Japanese as a nation are now badly in need of a national organisation to train them in accordance with a definite principle, and he has therefore formulated, strictly in accordance with the basic spirit of the Japanese national structure, a principle of his own which is commonly called Hashimoto-Kingoroism.' It is the colonel's firm conviction that not only does this principle strike the key-note of the national ideal of Japan, but that it is also best suited for the Japanese of to-day and of the future."
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British Empire: Trade Agreement between Australia and Japan.
211.
A commercial agreement between His Majesty's Government in the Commonwealth of Australia and the Japanese Government was signed on the 27th June, in replacement of the existing instrument, which was due to expire at the end of June. Amongst other provisions, the agreement arranged for the allotment by the Japanese Government to Australian products of at least two-thirds of the total quantity of wool to be imported into Japan from all foreign countries.
United States of America.
212. On the 16th June the United States Chargé d'Affaires protested emphatically to the Japanese Government regarding the American interest in the North China trade in furs and skins, which continued to be subjected to unwarranted interference by agencies and instruments of the Japanese Govern- ment. The United States Government were forced to conclude that the Japanese military, by interfering with exports of furs and skins, were endeavouring to stifle competition with the object of driving down prices so that the Japanese might obtain their own requirements at cheap prices and also obtain foreign exchange from direct exports by their own agencies. The United States Govern- ment requested the Japanese Government to cause the interference in question
to cease.
Anti-Comintern Pact.
213. Evidence from various sources indicated that the Japanese Government were subjected to heavy pressure from German and Italian Embassies at the beginning of the month with the object of inducing them to join the pact. If these reports were correct, the Japanese Government's response must have been negative in substance, since was stated that they reached a final decision on the 6th June regarding the measures to be taken to give effect to the attitude on which they had determined in the previous month (see Political Diary for May, paragraph 169). It was subsequently reported from a foreign diplomatic source that, as a result of the decision of the 6th June, the Japanese Government offered Germany a limited pact, but that the German Government, abetted by the Japanese Ambassadors to Germany and Italy, rejected the offer as inadequate.
Germany.
214. The Ministry of Marine admitted privately on the 7th June that a German ship had been stopped by the Japanese navy. The story was current that the ship contained arms and ammunition for the Chinese Government.
China: Japanese Policy.
215. Concerted oral representations regarding the statement made by the spokesman of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on the 24th May about the foreign settlements in China (Political Diary for April, paragraph 174) were made at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on the 13th June by the counsellors of the British and French Embassies. Representations were subsequently made by the United States Chargé d'Affaires on the same subject.
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