893.113/755
The British Ambassador (Howard) to the Secretary of State
Sir: I have the honour to inform you that the attention of His Majesty’s Government has been called to the fact that military aircraft and machine guns were recently conveyed to Dairen by the French Mail steamer Chantilly, and are understood to have now been delivered at their destination. According to a report on the subject which appeared in the London Times on October 17th last this vessel, although a mail steamer, was actually diverted from her course for this purpose.
In the opinion of His Majesty’s Government a grave breach of the whole spirit of the embargo agreement has thus been committed and the repetition of such incidents would exercise a most detrimental effect upon the adoption and enforcement of the Washington-Peking [Page 531] resolution. In these circumstances, I have the honour to request that you will be so good as to bring the matter to the urgent attention of the competent United States authorities, and to enquire whether the United States Government would be prepared to instruct their Representative at Paris to associate himself with his British Colleague in addressing strong representations on the subject to the French Government.
I may add that according to the information at the disposal of His Majesty’s Government, the Japanese Government have taken steps to prevent the delivery of anticipated further consignments via Dairen, and regret that the necessary precautions to this end were not taken at an earlier date.
I have [etc.]