CO129-496 - Public Offices - 1926 — Page 129

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.

I

WELDED COPY,

CHINA

Decypher.

Sir R.Macleay (Peking),

23rd May, 1928.

D.

1. 10 p.m.

23rd May, 1926.

R. 12.50 p.m.

23rd May, 1926.

No.37.

128

- CONFERENCE.

Your telegrams Nos. 154 and 155.

I agree to revised version on the understanding that last paragraph which I should prefer deleted is

not meant to convey that we advocate unconditional grant of Washington surtaxes which would be in conflict with our attitude in accepting draft agreement for their enforcement. I also think it would be as well

to make slight amendment to paragraph two in the sense that we are anxious to liquidate Washington promises as soon as some kind of provisional regency goverment has been established with a sufficient measure of

provincial support to render such liquidation practicable.

Verbal amendment may moreover be desirable so as to give no handle for the suggestion that His ajesty's Government contemplate that remaining and more important work of conference will never be accomplished. Sentence might therefore run somewhat as follows:-

"It was realized, however, that in existing political circumstances suspension of conference might

prove to be more prolonged than was intended and in

order to prevent possibility of misunderstanding as to

X

X

the sincerity of the Powers His Majesty's Government

considered it to be of the greatest importance that

before even such a reconstruction as above contemplated

took....