Message to the Congress Recommending Payment of a Claim Presented by the Government of China.

To the Congress of the United States:

I transmit herewith a report of the Secretary of State requesting the submission to the Congress of a claim presented by the Government of China against the Government of the United States, arising out of a collision in Chinese waters on June 2, 1927, between the United States naval vessel Bittern and a Chinese junk, resulting in the drowning of Chang Hsi Ying, a citizen of China, and a member of the crew of the junk.

I recommend that, as an act of grace and without reference to the question of the legal liability of the United States, an appropriation in the amount of $500 be made to effect settlement of this claim in accordance with the recommendation of the Secretary of State, in which the Secretary of the Navy concurs.

HERBERT HOOVER

The White House,

January 6, 1930.