793.94/6659
The British Ambassador (Lindsay) to the Secretary of State
Dear Mr. Secretary: In our conversation yesterday we touched on the phrase in the British statement to Japan concerning special rights possessed by Japan in relation to China which have been recognised by other Powers and not shared by them. Last night I received a telegram from Sir John Simon in which he gives me the text of the answer he had returned in the House of Commons to a parliamentary question on the phrase quoted above. The answer is in the following terms:—
“The phrase which my honourable friend has quoted was employed for the purpose of indicating that any particular policy of His Majesty’s Government in China or any particular activity of British subjects could only be successfully challenged by showing that such policy or such activity infringed some special Japanese right recognized by other Powers and not shared by them.
“They are not rights of a general character that would fall within category indicated by my honourable friend. Japan however, like other countries, has no doubt acquired special rights in China recognized by other Powers but not shared by them by virtue of agreements relating to particular enterprises. An example would be the Japanese concession in Hankow. I am not in a position to give a list of such agreements nor do I think it necessary to do so, since the responsibility of proving that this or that right comes within the category in question does not rest on His Majesty’s Government.”
I think that this statement by Sir John Simon has a considerable bearing on the conversation which we had.
Believe me [etc.]