CO129-497 - Public Offices - 1926 — Page 125

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if nothing concrete emerges we shall have shown our

goodwill in secking a settlement, and thus be on

strong ground if we have later to make public our

case, and in the meanwhile it may at least keep

Southern government's "foot on the soft pedal" as

Chen admitted they had done during my own visit to

Hankow.

One of our big difficulties will be the problem

of the rest of China if we proceed forthwith to go

ahead with the South. I do not profess at the

moment to see solution of this but Chen's latest

formila (see my telegram No. 27) which amounts in

fact to de facto regional recognition may possibly

contain the key. Might we not, on lines of Saburi's

scheme, (see my telegram No. 16), reverse procedure

I have hitherto had in mind and proceed from the

particular to the general rather than the other way

round? Whether Chen would agree to thin is un-

certain but it would have the advantage that the

question of recognition might for the present

tacitly drop into the background and become theoret-

ical rather than practical. For example O'Malley

might go down to discuss possibilities of some

agreement, say tariff autonomy with consequent

conventional tariff agreement, and some of tho

other less contentious problems. If this method of

procedure appealed to you it would involve immediate

study of what it is essentiel to retain in the

treaties and what we can sacrifice, and I propose to

go into this point with legation staff at Peking, and to submit suggestions later.

By