438.00/151c
The Acting Secretary of State to the High Commissioner in Haiti ( Russell )
Sir: There is transmitted herewith, for your information, a copy of a note88 which has been sent to the French Ambassador in Washington requesting that M. René Delage, who is the French nominee for appointment by the Financial Adviser as a member of the Haitian Claims Commission, should proceed to Port au Prince at his early convenience, planning to arrive there not later than October 25th next.
The Department desires, also, to inform you that the British Government has nominated Mr. W. Briscoe, C. B. E., a Barrister-at-Law and a member of the Treasury Solicitor’s Office, as the British member. The British Embassy in Washington has been informed that it will not be necessary for the British member of the Commission to be present during the first few weeks of the Commission’s work.
The Italian Government has nominated Mr. O. Scarpa, of Port au Prince, as the Italian member of the Commission.
The names of these nominees have been communicated by the Department to the Financial Adviser to Haiti, with the suggestion [Page 538] that he make a formal recommendation to the President of Haiti for their appointment.
It is the desire of the Department that the Claims Commission should be constituted at the earliest practicable moment. The name of the nominee of the Secretary of State will be communicated to you as soon as possible, and the person who may be selected for this position will be asked to proceed at once to Port au Prince. The Department assumes that the Haitian member of the Commission will, in accordance with the understanding with the Haitian Government, be named within eight days after the signature of the loan contract.
I am [etc.]
- Note not printed.↩