893.51/6934: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Kennedy) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 10—3:53 p.m.]
967. The information contained in your 510, July 7, 7 p.m., was in the absence of Bewley, on leave, conveyed to the appropriate official of the British Treasury who expressed appreciation therefor.
He brought up the subject of the Tientsin affair negotiations and expressed the opinion that if they were confined to such matters as the custody of the four Chinese they merely concerned the British Government but that if they included questions of Chinese currency they obviously involved others. He went on to express the view that it was impossible to envisage compromise on the currency problem: either the currency of the legally recognized Government of China [Page 683] was the official medium or it was not. But at the same time he issued a clear warning that the British negotiators in Tokyo harbored ideas of compromise on this issue. Asked about the French contribution to the Stabilization Fund he made the significant statement that the French had become more hesitant about taking this step. It therefore seems reasonable to assume that the British Treasury is opposed to modifying its attitude on the Chinese currency question but as indicated in my 906, June 28, 4 p.m., the British Goverment is inclined to do so.