Berne, December 15,
1923.
[Received January 2, 1924.]
No. 1290
L.N. No. 432
[Enclosure]
The Secretary General of the League of
Nations (Drummond) to the Minister
in Switzerland (Grew)
Geneva, December 14,
1923.
My Dear Mr. Grew: May I write to you with
regard to the letter which the President of the Council is sending
to the Secretary of State in Washington and of which I enclose a
copy. It refers to the Resolution of the Assembly, recommending to
the Council that the Government of the United States should be
invited to appoint representatives to co-operate with the Temporary
Mixed Commission in the preparation of the new convention for the
regulation of the Traffic in Arms, to supersede the Convention of
St. Germain.
The letter to the Secretary of State is accompanied by a copy of the
Resolution of the Council, setting out the character and
constitution of the Commission. The Council are anxious that, should
the United States send experts to cooperate with the Commission in
regard with this matter, your Government should fully realize that,
while the Commission has been entrusted with the task of preparing a
new Convention, its Members sit in a purely individual capacity,
free from any Government instructions, and therefore, without in the
slightest degree engaging the responsibility of the Government of
the countries of which they are nationals. They are appointed by the
Council of the League and not by their Governments.
Should the Government of the United States feel that this fact would
create between the members of the Commission and the representative,
or representatives, who might be nominated by it, a difference which
it would prefer to avoid, I would venture to suggest two possible
methods by which this difficulty might be met. A specific
declaration might be made, to the effect that the nominees of the
American Government, would, in no way, engage the responsibility of
their Government, in their dealings with the Commission.
Alternatively should your Government so prefer, the Council might,
in accordance with a practice followed in other cases, appoint one
or more American members to the Commission from names suggested
unofficially by the United States administration. This method would
give the necessary independence, both to the person appointed and to
the Government of the United States, while securing the best
possible guarantee to the Council as to the qualifications of the
person so selected.
Believe me [etc.]
