3. Kuriyama said that because of my visit to the Vice Minister this morning to make known our attitude we were the only other interested Government being informed regarding the exchange of notes with the British and that other governments would not be informed until the exchange had been approved by the Privy Council which would be done on March 17. Kuriyama added that if we wished to submit a draft note and letter of the same tenor as the British note and accompanying letter the Foreign Office would be pleased to receive them on or before March 10 as the Foreign Office wished to have them at least a week before submitting them to the Privy Council.

4. Please instruct.

GREW

894.52/51: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)

WASHINGTON, March 5, 1937-11 a. m. 40. Your telegrams No. 70, March 4, 3 p. m., and No. 71, March 4, 7 p. m.

1. You are authorized to carry out an exchange of notes and of accompanying letters, as set forth in your telegram No. 71.

2. You are also authorized in your discretion to inform the principal American leaseholders of our position.

3. With regard to the making of a public announcement, the Department had no intention of giving publicity to the approaching settlement of the leasehold question until such time as might have proved convenient to the Japanese Government and to the British Government. However, an Associated Press despatch with London dateline of March 2 attributed to "official sources" a report to the effect that Great Britain and Japan have virtually completed an agreement providing for the settlement of the perpetual leasehold question. In view of the publicity given out in London, the Department had prepared a statement for the press and was about to release it when your telegrams under reference were received.

4. It is requested that you inform the Foreign Office of the circumstances set forth in the preceding paragraph and that you state that this Government is confident that the Japanese Government will realize that it would be embarrassing to this Government to withhold a statement to the press for an unduly long period of time after the publicity which has already been given in London.

HULL

894.52/54: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

TOKYO, March 6, 1937-noon. [Received March 6-12:52 a. m.]

80. Department's 40, March 5, 11 a. m. Perpetual leaseholds. Draft documents submitted to Foreign Office this morning. Foreign Office perceives no objection to immediate publicity release in Washington.

894.52/53: Telegram

GREW

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Japan (Grew)

46

47

WASHINGTON, March 8, 1937-6 p. m. 43. Your 73, March 5, 1 p. m.6 and 80, March 6, noon. On March 6 Department issued a press release " presenting brief review of developments preceding the giving of notification to the Japanese Government of the willingness of the American Government to accept settlement of the leasehold question on terms similar to those arranged between the British and Japanese Governments, and concluding with expression of hope that American leaseholders will accept such terms. HULL

894.52/55: Telegram

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

TOKYO, March 9, 1937-5 p. m. [Received March 9-6: 56 a. m.]

83. Embassy's 80, March 6, noon; Department's 43, March 8, 6 p.m.-perpetual leaseholds.

1. Foreign Office informs me that our draft note and letter will be submitted together with the British documents to the Privy Council March 17 and that signature and exchange will take place on the 18th or 19th.48

2. I have filed no reservation to the effect that any right of American leaseholders which may be legally enforceable cannot be compromised by this settlement. There seems to be nothing to be gained by such action particularly as the Japanese Government proposes to introduce a law which would invalidate all perpetual leaseholds on

46 Not printed.

Department of State, Press Releases, March 6, 1937, p. 133.

48 Signature took place March 25; Executive Agreement Series No. 104, or 50 Stat. 1611.

April 1, 1942. Furthermore, the Japanese Government would not accept a formal reservation of that nature.

3. The Department's press release is appreciated by the Foreign Office.

GREW

894.52/64

The Ambassador in Japan (Grew) to the Secretary of State

No. 2385

TOKYO, April 28, 1937. [Received May 17.]

SIR: With reference to the Embassy's despatch No. 2338 of April 1, 1937,49 relating to the settlement of the perpetual lease question, I have the honor to report that the Japanese Foreign Office on Thursday, April 15, exchanged notes with the French Ambassador and the Swiss Minister for the relinquishment of the perpetual leases held by French and Swiss nationals. The notes are reported to be of the same purport as those exchanged with the British Embassy and ourselves on March 25, 1937.

According to a report issued by Domei, the texts of official notes to be exchanged with Italy, Holland, Denmark, and Portugal in settlement of perpetual leases held by nationals of those countries will be considered by the Privy Council holding its regular session today. The exchange of notes with those countries will conclude negotiations for the termination of perpetual leaseholds held by foreign nationals in Japan.

Respectfully yours,

40 Not printed.

JOSEPH C. GREW

SIAM

TREATY OF FRIENDSHIP, COMMERCE AND NAVIGATION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SIAM, NOVEMBER 13, 19371

611.9231/16

Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs (Hamilton)

[WASHINGTON,] May 27, 1937. Conversation: The Siamese Minister, Phya Abhibal Rajamaitre; Mr. Sayre.2

Present: Mr. Hamilton.

The Siamese Minister called at the request of Mr. Sayre. Mr. Sayre informed the Minister that he had asked him to be so good as to call in order that Mr. Sayre might inform the Minister of two points in connection with the study which the Department was giving to the question of the new commercial treaty with Siam.

Mr. Sayre informed the Siamese Minister that the first of these two points was that since receipt from the Siamese Government of the draft of the proposed treaty, the Department has been preparing two counterdrafts, one following the lines of our standard draft and the other following the lines of the Siamese draft with such suggested amendments as would be needed to bring the draft into conformity with the desires of this Government. Mr. Sayre said that we have been working very hard on these counterdrafts; that a good many divisions in the Department were concerned and had to scrutinize carefully each proposed article; that our study was taking a good deal more time than had originally been anticipated but that the time and effort which had been put forth would probably serve to shorten the period of actual negotiation; and that we hoped to be in position within one or two weeks to hand the Siamese Minister in tentative form the two counterdrafts which we were preparing.

Mr. Sayre continued that the second point in regard to which he wished to inform the Siamese Minister was that both the British and the Japanese Governments had indicated to us that they would be interested in receiving information in regard to our attitude to

8

1 For previous correspondence, see Foreign Relations, 1936, vol. iv, pp. 994 ff. Francis B. Sayre, Assistant Secretary of State.

Missing from the Department files; it was handed to the Legation in Siam on November 5, 1936.

ward the draft of the treaty between the United States and Siam proposed by the Siamese Government. Mr. Sayre said that we were now communicating to the British and Japanese Governments, in reply to their inquiries, information of a general character in regard to our attitude. Mr. Sayre stated that we of course wished the Siamese Minister and his Government to know what we were doing in this regard. Mr. Sayre thereupon handed the Minister an informal memorandum (copy attached hereto) containing the substance of the information which we were communicating to the British and the Japanese Governments.

The Minister read the memorandum and then expressed his appreciation of and thanks for the information which Mr. Sayre had given him.

The Minister raised the question of the place where negotiation of the new treaty between the United States and Siam should be held. After some discussion and interchange of views Mr. Sayre and the Minister expressed agreement that from a number of points of view it would seem preferable that the negotiations be conducted at Bangkok rather than at Washington.

611.9231/16

The Department of State to the Siamese Legation

Both the Japanese and the British Governments have evinced interest in the attitude of the American Government toward the draft of a treaty between the United States and Siam proposed by the Siamese Government. The information which the American Government is communicating informally and in confidence to the Japanese and to the British Governments is in substance as follows:

During the past few years the American Government has concluded a number of commercial treaties with other governments. Since receipt from the Siamese Government of the draft of a proposed treaty, the Department of State has been preparing a counterdraft which incorporates the results of the experience gained by this Government in the negotiations of previous treaties and which accords more closely with the views of this Government than does the Siamese draft. The counterdraft resembles closely the standard form followed in recent treaties, an example of which is the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Consular Rights signed February 13, 1934, between the United States and Finland. This counterdraft incorporates certain provi

* Infra.

"Handed to the Siamese Minister on May 27 by Assistant Secretary of State Sayre. See Foreign Relations, 1934, vol. 1, pp. 134 ff.