500.A15a3/75: Telegram
The Ambassador in Great Britain (Dawes) to the Secretary of State
[Received 9:19 p.m.]
201. Having received word that the Prime Minister desired to see me, I called on him this afternoon taking with me sections one and two of your 182, July 21, 7 p.m.,22 the third section not having been received then or at this time. I read to the Prime Minister the first two sections of your No. 182. He then read and discussed an address he must make in Parliament Wednesday afternoon at 5 o’clock in reply to an interpellation. Insofar as this speech affects us and relates to our position he will say the following which he gave me in writing:
“I am now in a position to make a statement of the immediate intentions of the Government regarding the naval building program. The Government’s general position is that the defense of a country must be devised with two main considerations in view: first the chances of the defenses having to be used; then the efficiency and economy shown in their magnitude and character. The Government has kept in view the revolutionary changes in policy and in the problem of national security effected [affected?] by the Peace Pact if that pact is to be made an effective influence in international relations. To make it so is the controlling purpose of the Government and a systematic policy is being developed which will take a little time to complete to carry out that intention. In coming to decisions upon these matters no government ought to allow itself to be rushed, but at the same time it must not permit public money to be wasted by delay in applying obvious conclusions which if applied will result in economy.
As is well known, in the midst of the multifarious concerns which the formation of a new government entails and the specially pressing and complicated nature of our tasks, conversations have been actively carried on between the United States and ourselves for the purpose of opening the way for an agreement on naval matters which hitherto have defied a settlement. By a happy coincidence our assumption of office corresponded in time with the arrival in this country of the new American Ambassador, General Dawes, who has come here charged by the President of the United States of America with a mission for preparing the ground for an international agreement on the reduction and limitation of naval armaments. Already the whole field of these differences with the United States has been surveyed and the two Governments have made a fresh start on their solution. We have agreed upon the principle of parity; we have agreed that without in any way departing from the conditions of parity a measure of elasticity can be allowed so as to meet the peace requirements of two nations. We have determined that we shall not allow technical points to override the great public issues involved [Page 154] in our being able to come to a settlement. A visit by me to the President of the United States is now the subject of conversation so that it may take place when it will be most helpful to promote the cordial relations of our two countries and in particular advance the ends of disarmament and peace which we hold in common.
We have set up a committee to coordinate the three services for the purposes of Cabinet consideration but as that coordination is not comprehensive enough to meet the requirements of state policy the Foreign Office is also represented upon it. This will enable us to systematize our work. In the opinion of this committee, matters have progressed so favorably and the general outlook is such as to justify us ‘in reviewing our own program. Our predecessors did this from time to time as the outlook brightened. Therefore not only as a proof of our own sincerity but as a duty imposed upon us to guard the expenditure of national money we have decided as follows:
- To suspend all work on the cruisers Surrey and Northumberland.
- To cancel the submarine depot ship Maidstone.
- To cancel two contract submarines.
- To slow down dockyard work [on] other naval construction.
As regards the 1929–30 program, in any event no commitments would have to be entered into before the autumn and no steps will be taken to proceed with it until the matter has received further consideration.
The Government of course recognizes that a substantial reduction in the naval building program must have a direct effect on employment in the dockyards but I am glad to say that as a result of special rearrangement suggested by the Admiralty it is hoped to secure the absorption of a large amount of labor which would otherwise be discharged from the royal dockyards. The representatives of dockyard labor will at once be consulted.
We are indebted to the Board of Admiralty for the help which they have rendered and I desire to state that, having expressed their technical view on the minimum armaments they consider to be necessary, they have furnished us with loyal help in achieving our object with the least possible dislocation and hardship.
I ought to add that it is recognized by all the powers concerned that a preliminary agreement on Anglo-American differences is essential to a general agreement on naval building and the governments of the powers represented at Washington 1921–22 have been kept informed of the conversations. So soon as the way is cleared they will be invited to a preliminary conference so that we may all together try to come to an agreement of a comprehensive kind and this will then be embodied in something of the nature of a treaty at a place which I hope will by common consent be chosen by the United States as a recognition of the splendid part played by its President in these transactions.
If these intentions are fulfilled the request of the chairman of the Preparatory Commission on Disarmament [made at Geneva on March 15, 1928,] that the naval powers should make an attempt to agree among themselves will be accomplished and we shall be in a position to pursue with that Commission the difficult but essential problems of [Page 155] how to reduce other forms of armaments in accordance with the pledge given by the Allies at Versailles when imposing disarmament on Germany and its associated nations and in pursuance of the Pact of Peace. To that His Majesty’s Government will direct its thoughts and its energies in cooperation with other nations so soon as this more immediate work on naval agreement has been finished. A general disarmament conference will then be possible and a clearly marked achievement in the pursuit of national security through peace will have been recorded.”
The Prime Minister desires to change what he expects to say as above in accordance with any suggestions you may make. Of course what he says was written without knowledge of what may be contained in the third section of your telegram which has not been received. If this is received tonight I will communicate to him such portions as you indicate in it are to be shown him and will wire any changes which the Prime Minister may make because of it. The Prime Minister expects that after the delivery of this speech he will be asked from the floor as to whether there was any agreement for a response from the United States Government in return for stopping work upon the English cruisers. To this he will reply in effect that he made the decision and will abide by the consequences. In this connection however he would greatly appreciate it if the United States made the response which you have already outlined in time to have it available before Parliament rises Friday afternoon. If you decide that any portion of the Prime Minister’s address, as given above, should be changed it is urgent that word as to the change reach here tomorrow Tuesday evening.
- The text of telegram No. 182 does not have indicated the sections into which it was separated for cable transmission.↩