[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.]
From CHIA.
Decode.
Sir M. Lampson (Nanking).
1st June, 1931.
D.
10.24 a.m., 4th June, 1931.
R.
No. 251.
(R).
9.00 a.m., 4th June, 1931.
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296
315
Your telegram No. 132. 304
I read your telegram to Minister for Foreign
Affairs on June 1st and presented amended text of
Article 22 with attached unilateral unpublished note.
After some pressing he admitted we necessarily retained
full discretion as to whether we ratified or not and
that His Majesty's Government would naturally take
points in question into consideration when the time for
ratification arrived; but he objected strongly to our
putting in a written note in terms proposed and
especially to the second proviso; existence of note
would be bound to come out sooner or later thus making
it all the worse for him when it did appear. He again
argued that we were covered by Article 18. I refused
to follow in his arguments beyond again pointing out
fallacy of this latter statement. I said he could not
prevent my putting in the note when the time for
signature came and emphasized that His Majesty's Govern-
ment could not possibly forego a reservation on the two
points in question which would very probably be raised
in Parliament in debate on ratification.
He eventually
threw
...
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