[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.]
18
FROM CHINA
Decypher.
D.
Sir M. Lampson (Peking).
1.00 p.m. 26th December 1931.
26th December 1931.
R.
9.00 a.m.
27th December 1931.
No. 747.
(381)
(375)
(378)
382
Addressed to Commander-in-Chief No. 176 of December 26t Your telegram No. 959.
Foreign Office telegram referred to is doubtless their No. 174 to me already repeated to you. For my action upon it see my telegram to Mr. Ingram No. 364 and to Foreign Office telegram No. 740.
Ground is already fairly well covered in my circular to consuls No. 2 of January 9th 1930 of which I propose to remind them, do you concur?
I do not anticipate that Chinese are likely in present circumstances to wish to use force though clearly we cannot provide against irresponsible acts by some local authority. What we naturally want to avoid is creation of any incident if this can properly be avoided. Where possible I feel strongly that there should be prior consultation with Your Excellency and myself on part of consuls and Senior Naval Officers before any drastic action is taken. And in no case should indirect action (e.g. to secure release of a British subject detained by Chinese out of our immediate reach), be taken without your and my approval which probably could not be given pending reference home in view of repercussion on our general relations with Chinese that might be involved. Subject to above general lines 1 do not see how we can elaborate in advance any special steps to give effect to His Majesty's Government's policy.
(For my circular to Consuls No.2, see my telegram No.3 to Foreign Office of 1930)
Repeated to Foreign Office and Mission.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.