890d.01/155b
The Secretary of State to the Chargé in France ( Whitehouse )
Sir: In a publication of the “League of Nations” dated Geneva, August 27, 1923, and entitled “Supplementary Report to the Fourth Assembly of the League on the Work of the Council, on the Work of the Secretariat and on the Measures taken to execute the Decisions of the Assembly,” the Department has noted on page 27 in a report of the third session of the Permanent Mandates Commission, the following statement:
“The Commission did not consider it desirable to examine the report on the administration of Palestine communicated to it by the British Government, since the Commission had been informed that the Palestine mandate would not enter definitely into force until the French and Italian Governments had notified the President of the Council of the League of their agreement on certain special points affecting Syria.”
In view of the fact that the Department has not recently received any information with regard to the progress of the negotiations between the French and the Italian Governments with regard to Syria, it is desired that, without making any direct inquiry, you discreetly investigate and report any available information on this subject. A similar instruction is being sent to the Embassies at London and Rome and to the Consulates at Beirut and Jerusalem.
I am [etc.]