711.4112A/36
The Minister in Canada (Phillips) to the Secretary of State
[Received February 4.]
Sir: Referring to the Department’s telegram No. 11 of January 21, 4 p.m., on the subject of the proposed arbitration treaty between the United States and Great Britain, I have the honor to report that I called upon Dr. Skelton, Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs, on January 25th, and conveyed to him informally the statements in the first four paragraphs of the telegram under reference.
Dr. Skelton seemed glad to hear that we understood the provisions of the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 in the same sense as the Prime Minister and himself. He said that the Cabinet was united in feeling that the Boundary Waters Treaty, rather than any arbitration treaty with Great Britain, should cover all purely Canadian-American questions.
Dr. Skelton further stated that it was the general feeling of the Cabinet that the International Joint Commission should be mentioned in the proposed arbitration treaty between the United States and Great Britain because its importance would thus be magnified in the eyes of the world.
I have [etc.]