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Decode and Decypher.
Sir R. Craigie (Tokyo).
21st February, 1940.
D.
12.05 p.m., 22nd February, 1940.
R.
6.26 p.m., 21st February, 1940.
No. 332.
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IMPORTANT.
[R. begins.]
My telegram No. 242.
The Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs informed me today that in the spirit of the Minister for Foreign Affairs' recent message to me about his intention to make a special effort to settle some of our outstanding questions and in view of my special insistence on the early release of Sagres and Lalita he had been using his good offices with the Japanese Navy to bring about the release of these two ships. The Navy strongly insisted on the legality of these seizures. His Excellency considered if we were going to keep the matter on a legal basis, cases would drag on indefinitely.
He felt therefore that as
in Asana Maru case we should seek for a practical solution and he was endeavouring to secure the release on the understanding that all claims for compensation would be waived.
2. I thanked His Excellency for his efforts in this matter and stated that I would submit his suggestion to you. The two ships had been held up for an inordinate time and we believed entirely without justification so that the proposal that we should waive claims to compensation might not be easy of acceptance. At the same time I felt sure that Your
Lordship
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