FO371-24687 — Page 109

Page 109

Page 109

DRAFT

57

COPY.

Page 109

My dear Mr. Minister:

On May 27, 1940, I addressed to Your Excellency's

predecessor a note in which I pointed out that the

American Government views with great concern the possi-

bility that there might be established in the future

a new bank of issue in China by the Japanese-sponsored

Chinese authorities at Nanking. My Government at that

time instructed me to bring to the attention of the

then Minister for Foreign Affairs the fact that such

action, if taken by the authorities in that part of

China under Japanese occupation, would have the most

unfavorable effect upon international trade with those

areas and would not be in keeping with the assurances

which the Japanese Government had on frequent occasions

given to the American Government. In conclusion my

note stated that not to keep faith with those assur-

ances would moreover undesirably affect American-

Japanese relations. I felt confident, therefore, that

it was not the intention of the Japanese authorities

in China or of the Japanese Government to allow such

further serious disturbance in the international trade

of China and interference with foreign enterprise in

/that

Page 109

Page 109