893.00 Nanking/163: Telegram
The Minister in China (MacMurray) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 26—9:25 a.m.]
589. My 570, May 18, noon.70
1. Following from the American consul at Shanghai:
“May 21, 11 a.m. Under date of May 20th the Commissioner of Foreign Affairs71 has written to me as follows:
‘Mr. C. C. Wu desires me to inform you that he is prepared to effect a settlement of the Nanking incident as soon as possible. If the American Government will designate some one for that purpose he is ready to hold informal conversations with him.’
Not sent to the Department.”
2. In reply to my inquiry whether other interested nationalities had been approached with a similar proposal, he answered:
“Other nationalities have not been approached in the same manner but have been or will be approached. In the absence of the Japanese consul general the suggestion was made yesterday morning to General Matsui who is visiting here and he has reported it to Tokyo. The suggestion will be made to the British Minister during his visit here but he has not yet met Dr. Wu. France is being approached informally through the French consul general.
The suggestion was first made to me through a newspaper correspondent to whom I suggested it should come through an official source. Dr. Wu expected the Commissioner for Foreign Affairs to approach me personally instead of which he wrote the letter.”
3. As soon as received, I replied as follows:72
- (1)
- Apparently letter from Commissioner of Foreign Affairs does not change situation regarding which I sent you instructions in my telegrams No. 31 of May 673 and 36 of May 7.74 Sufficient authority has been given to you and Davis to receive any offers from the Nanking regime to settle Nanking affair on the basis previously indicated. No special designation is needed for that purpose and I cannot see, on the other hand, that it would serve any useful purpose to enter into any negotiations with the Nanking authorities before they shall have offered assurances that they are disposed to recognize in a wholehearted manner their responsibility and duty to satisfy the completely reasonable demands which we have made regarding the Nanking affair.
- (2)
- You should keep closely in touch with Lampson and with your colleagues as I do not understand that our Government intends to deal independently in this matter and risk being placed in a position of having the various items of settlement auctioned off by the Chinese among five powers concerned.