m is of particular secrecy and should be retained
sed recipient and not passed on.]
Kis telegra
by the author
[CYPHER]
-
WAR CABINET DISTRIBUTION.
FROM: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
FROM WASHINGTON TO FOREIGN OFFICE.
292
Viscount Halifax
No. 2159.
12th April, 1942.
Do R.
9.23 p.m. 12th April, 1942. 5. O a.m. 13th April, 1942.
JJJJJ
Your telegram No. 1979 and Chungking telegram No. 460 to you.
Confidential.
Admiral Yarnell is of course now retired and speaks only for himself. But his [grp. undec. ?message] (which has attracted no publicity here so far as I am aware) and reactions to it in China showed that if we wish to obtain credit for taking the initiative in this approach to the Chinese, we shall, as Sir H. Seymour says, have to act both carefully and quickly. The State Department, as you know, act not infrequently in matters of possible common concern without consulting us, and this appears particularly in respect of Far East matters; they did not for instance give Mr. Koo any warning before publishing exchange of notes with Dr. Quo Tai-chi about extra-territoriality when latter passed through here last year, and though we are now Allies I doubt whether they would give us much warning if they were about to take action with the Chinese similar to that which we propose to [grp. undec. ?take], Unless therefore we wish to tie up Americans to offer Chinese better terms than we are prepared to give, I do not think that we need give them too long a warning of our proposed action or that we need approach them until we are fully ready to take action.
INDIV.
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