711.4112/163
The British Ambassador (Geddes) to the Secretary of State
Sir: I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your note of today’s date in which you were so good as to inform me, in connection with the renewal of the Arbitration Convention of April 4th, 1908, between Great Britain and the United States, that the President of the United States had proposed to the Senate the adherence of the United States, under certain conditions, to the Protocol of December 16th, 1920, creating the Permanent Court of International Justice at the Hague, and that, if the Senate assents to this proposal, you understand that His Britannic Majesty’s Government would be prepared to consider the conclusion of an agreement, providing for the reference to the Permanent Court of International Justice of disputes mentioned in the Convention.
Under instructions from His Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs I have the honour to confirm your understanding of His Majesty’s Government’s attitude on this point and to state that if the Senate approve the President’s proposal His Majesty’s Government will be prepared to consider with the United States Government the conclusion of an agreement for the reference to the Permanent Court of International Justice of disputes mentioned in the Arbitration Convention.
I have [etc.]