Paris Peace Conf. 180.03401/149
IC–181G
Notes of a Meeting Held in the Conference Room of the Supreme War Council at the Grand Hotel Trianon, Versailles, on Wednesday, May 7, 1919, at 4:15 p.m.
- Present
- America, United States of
- President Wilson
- France
- M. Clemenceau, President of the Council.
- M. Simon, Minister for the Colonies.
- Great Britain
- The Rt. Hon. D. Lloyd George, M. P. Prime Minister.
- The Rt. Hon. A. J. Balfour, O. M., M. P. Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
- Mr. C. Strachey.
- Italy
- M. Orlando.
- Baron Sonnino.
- America, United States of
| Sir Maurice Hankey, K. C. B. | } | secretaries. |
| Count Aldrovandi | ||
| Professor Mantoux, Interpreter. | ||
1. The Council had before them a document communicated by Mr. Lloyd George at the morning meeting (I. C. 181–E) (Appendix 1.)
The German Colonies. Allocation of Mandates President Wilson asked if there were any islands besides New Guinea in the Pacific the mandate of which went to Australia.
Mr. Lloyd George said there were a number of smaller islands to the east of New Guinea.
M. Simon said he agreed with Mr. Lloyd George’s proposals subject to a reservation in regard to the Cameroons. Some inconvenience would arise to France as a Mandatory State owing to the fact that a part of the Cameroons would pass under the direct and unrestricted sovereignty of the British Empire. He then produced a form of agreement that he had prepared (Appendix 2).
Mr. Lloyd George deprecated the reference to the agreement of the 4th March 1916 in Article 1 of M. Simon’s draft as he understood that there was not complete agreement about this.
M. Clemenceau said he preferred Mr. Lloyd George’s text.
M. Simon drew attention to the fact that the British text made no allusion to the portion of the Cameroons which Germany had forced France to give up in 1911 and which ought not to be subject to a mandate.
[Page 507]Mr. Lloyd George said that this matter ought to have been raised in connection with the Peace Treaty. As it has not been raised it was difficult to prevent it being subject to a mandate.
M. Simon said that if he understood the matter right there was a joint clause in the Treaty of Peace according to which all previous treaties with Germany disappeared. This would cover the territory in question.
Mr. Lloyd George pointed out that France and Great Britain in his draft were entitled to make recommendations to the League of Nations on this matter.
M. Simon objected that Mr. Lloyd George’s text provided that France should have the mandate of the Cameroons except in regard to one part.
Mr. Balfour pointed out that this part only concerned the rectification of the frontiers.
Mr. Lloyd George proposed that the difficulty would be entirely met by deleting the second paragraph relating to the Cameroons and altering the first paragraph to read as follows:—
“Togoland and Cameroons. France and Great Britain shall make a joint recommendation to the League of Nations as to their future”.
2. Italian Claims in Africa M. Orlando observed that in Mr. Lloyd George’s scheme, Italy was excluded from participation in the mandates in Africa. He had spoken of this question before and had said that if mandates were a burden Italy was ready to accept them. If mandates had advantages, then Italy had the right to share them. Moreover, Article 13 of the Treaty of London (Appendix III) provided that Italy should obtain equitable compensations in those parts of Africa that specially concerned her in the event of France and Great Britain increasing their colonial territories in Africa.
M. Simon then read Article 13 of the Treaty of London.
Mr. Lloyd George said he could state at once that he fully recognised the validity of Article 13 and that the British Government was prepared immediately to enter into discussions on this matter. It was no use their doing it, however, unless France was prepared to.
M. Clemenceau agreed.
Mr. Balfour pointed out that the phrase in Article 13 of the Treaty of London referred to augmentation of British and French territory and not to mandates which, strictly speaking, were not an augmentation. He did not press the point however.
(Mr. Balfour withdrew at this point.)
The following decisions were reached:—
[Page 508](1) Togoland and Cameroons. France and Great Britain shall make a joint recommendation to the League of Nations as to their future.
German East Africa. The mandate shall be held by Great Britain.
German South West Africa. The mandate shall be held by the Union of South Africa.
The German Samoan Islands. The mandate shall be held by New Zealand.
The Other German Pacific Possessions South of the Equator excluding the German Samoan Islands and Nauru, the mandate shall be held by Australia.
Nauru. The mandate shall be given to the British Empire.
German Islands North of the Equator. The mandate shall be held by Japan.
(2) That an Inter-Allied Committee consisting of one representative each of the British Empire, France and Italy should be formed to consider the application of Article 13 of the Treaty of London, dated 26th April, 1915.
(3) That the above decisions should be published.
Villa Majestic, Paris, 7 May, 1919.
- Translation from the French supplied by the editors.↩