862S. 01/15
The Belgian Chargé (De Selys) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Secretary of State: Kef erring to my note of September 9th last addressed to the Acting Secretary of State, relative to the contemplated [Page 639] treaty for the guarantee of the rights of the United States in African territory put under Belgian mandate, I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that on September 20 last I had a conversation on the subject of the aforesaid note with the Chief of the Western Europe Division at the Department of State.
Mr. Castle called my attention to the fact that according to the reports received at the Department of State, His Excellency the Ambassador of the United States at Brussels had delivered on July 15 to the King’s Government the American Government’s memorandum of which Your Excellency was pleased to hand me a copy to give in person on July 12 last. He then brought to my attention a passage in my note dealing with an “American delegate” to the Council of the League of Nations.
The King’s Government, to whom I communicated the remarks of Mr. Castle, has instructed me and I have the honor to bring the following to you by way of reply. This communication was telegraphed to me by Mr. Jaspar:
“His Excellency, Mr. Fletcher, did deliver in good course to the Government of the King the memorandum of the American Government dated July 12. Unfortunately it did not come to the knowledge of the proper Division on account of a physical error and that accounts for the mistaken statement in the letter of August 23 from that Division (reproduced in the letter from the Embassy addressed to the Department of State on September 9 last)—Kindly tender my apologies for that mistake to the Department of State.
“The information concerning the approval at London by an American Delegate of Article VIII of the Belgian mandate is also based on a mistake and a note has been delivered in that respect to His Excellency the Ambassador of the United States at Brussels.”
I take [etc.]