[Enclosure—Translation]
The Italian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to the American
Embassy
A.II
4540/23
Note Verbale
In reply to the Note of December 26th, the Royal Ministry of Foreign
Affairs can only confirm what it has already communicated
[Page 726]
to the Embassy of the
United States in a previous Note regarding the question of the
delivery of Italian arms in China.61
The reservations formulated by the Italian Minister at Peking in
adhering, in the name of the Italian Government, to the established
agreement between France, England, the United States and Japan in
April 1919, in accordance with the proposal of the Minister of the
United States,62 were necessary because, for the delivery of the
aforesaid arms, there already existed contracts which had just begun
to be executed on the part of the Chinese purchasers.
However, considering the conditions prevailing in China, the Royal
Italian Legation, awaiting a betterment thereof, has always deferred
the fulfillment of such contracts, in spite of the large financial
losses resulting therefrom and the serious inconveniences which the
prolonged custody of such material caused, and which became more
difficult because of the recall to Italy of the personnel in charge
thereof. And, if lately the release of part of this material,
subject of contracts prior to April 1919, was not objected to, this
was due not only to the aforesaid reservations, but as a consequence
of formal assurances which the Government of Chihli caused to be
presented to it in the name of the Central Government to the effect
that the material would be kept in magazines and would not be used
in any manner in the internal wars of China.
