500.A15Franco–British/7
The French Chargé ( Sartiges ) to the Secretary of State
Mr. Secretary of State: I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that the technical conversations entered into between the British and French Naval experts regarding the manner in which limitation of naval armaments might take place have resulted in a draft agreement approved by the two Governments and whose tenor is indicated in this communication.
This draft agreement is designed to replace the French compromise proposal submitted in the month of March, 1927, to the Preparatory Disarmament Commission, entrusted with drawing up a draft convention.39
It had become evident during the fifth session of the Commission that this compromise proposal still gave rise to such differences of principle that it would be impossible to obtain a unanimous adhesion to the formulae proposed. It had also become evident during the discussions that a preliminary agreement at least on principles was necessary before the meeting of the Commission, if a second reading of the draft Convention for the Limitation of Armaments was to take place effectively.
The conversations were, therefore, renewed between the experts of the British and French Governments and have resulted in the following proposals:
The limitations which the Disarmament Conference will have to determine would fix the number of classes of war vessels at four:
- 1.
- Line vessels, i. e., vessels of over ten thousand tons or armed with guns of more than eight inch caliber.
- 2.
- Aircraft carriers of over ten thousand tons.
- 3.
- Surface vessels of or below ten thousand tons armed with guns of more than six inch and up to eight inch caliber.
- 4.
- Ocean-going submarines, that is to say, submarines of over six hundred tons.
No limitation is provided for vessels not includable in one of these four classes.
The Washington Treaty regulated the limitations in classes one and two, and the Disarmament Conference will only have to examine the method of extending these limitations to powers non-signatory to this Treaty.
As regards classes three and four the final Disarmament Conference will fix a maximum tonnage applicable to all powers which no [Page 272] power will be authorized to exceed for the total of vessels in each of these respective categories during the period covered by the Convention.
Before the final conference, each power will indicate, within this maximum limit for each of these categories, the tonnage it proposes to reach and which it undertakes not to exceed during the period covered by the Convention.
The preceding provisions are summarized in the table of limitation of naval materiel annexed to this communication.40
These are the provisions of the preliminary draft, which meets with the approval of the British and French Governments. The French Government earnestly hopes that the Government of the United States of America finds it possible to give this draft its approval and begs it to be so good as to inform it, if there is occasion to do so, of what amendments would be necessary to make its adhesion possible. The French Government is convinced that the adhesion of the great maritime powers to these proposals would mark an important date in the accomplishment of the work begun at the Washington Conference.
Please accept [etc.]