500.A15a3/233
The Identic British Notes Delivered to the French, Italian, and Japanese Ambassadors in Great Britain, October 7, 192976
Your Excellency: I have the honor to inform Your Excellency that the informal conversations on the subject of naval disarmament which have been proceeding in London during the last three months between the Prime Minister and the Ambassador of the United States have now reached a stage at which it is possible to say that there is no point outstanding of such serious importance as to prevent an agreement.
From time to time the Prime Minister has notified Your Excellency of the progress made in these discussions and I now have the honor to state that provisional and informal agreement has been reached on the following principles:
- One. The conversations have been one of the results of the Treaty for the Renunciation of War signed at Paris in 1928, which brought about a realignment of our national attitudes on the subject of security in consequence of the provision that war should not be used as an instrument of national policy in the relations of nations one to another. Therefore the Peace Pact has been regarded as the starting point of agreement.
- Two. It has been agreed to adopt the principle of parity in each of the several categories and that such parity shall be reached by December 31st, 1936. Consultation between His Majesty’s Government in the [Page 264] United Kingdom and His Majesty’s Government in the Dominions has taken place and it is contemplated that the program of parity on the British side should be related to naval forces of all parts of the Empire.
- Three. The question of battleship strength was also touched upon during the conversations and it has been agreed in these conversations that subject to the assent of other signatory powers it would be desirable to reconsider the battleship replacement programs provided for in the Washington Treaty of 1922 with the view of diminishing the amount of replacement construction implied under that treaty.
- Four. Since both the Government of the United States and His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom adhere to the attitude that they have publicly adopted in regard to the desirability of securing the total abolition of the submarine, this matter hardly gave rise to discussion during the recent conversations. They recognize however that no final settlement on this subject can be reached except in conference with the other naval powers.
In view of the scope of these discussions both Governments consider it most desirable that a Conference should be summoned to consider the categories not covered by the Washington Treaty and to arrange for and deal with the questions covered by the second paragraph of Article 21 of that Treaty. It is our earnest hope that the (blank) Government will agree to the desirability of such a Conference. His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom and the Government of the United States are in accord that such a Conference should be held in London at the beginning of the third week of January 1930 and it is hoped that the (blank) Government will be willing to appoint representatives to attend it.
A similar invitation is being addressed to the Governments of (blank) and the United States and His Majesty’s Governments in the Dominions are being asked to appoint representatives to take part in the Conference. I should be grateful if Your Excellency would cause the above invitation to be addressed to the (blank) Government.
In the same way as the two Governments have kept Your Excellency informally au courant of the recent discussions, so now His Majesty’s Government will be willing, in the interval before the proposed Conference, to continue informal conversations with Your Excellency on any points which may require elucidation. The importance of reviewing the whole naval situation at an early date is so vital in the interests of general disarmament that I trust that Your Excellency’s Government will see their way to accept this invitation and that the date proposed will be agreeable to them.
His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom propose to communicate to you in due course their views as to the subjects which they think should be discussed at the Conference, and will be glad [Page 265] to receive a corresponding communication from the (blank) Government.77
It is hoped that at this Conference the principal naval powers may be successful in reaching agreement. I should like to emphasize that His Majesty’s Government have discovered no inclination in any quarter to set up new machinery for dealing with the naval disarmament question; on the contrary, it is hoped that by this means a text can be elaborated which will facilitate the task of the League of Nations Preparatory Commission and of the subsequent general disarmament conference.