811.7442 Amateur/1

The Canadian Minister (Massey) to the Secretary of State

No. 147

Sir: I have the honour to inform you that I have been instructed by the Secretary of State for External Affairs to approach you concerning [Page 115] the negotiation of an Agreement between His Majesty’s Government in Canada and the Government of the United States governing radio communications between private experimental stations in the two countries.

The General Regulations annexed to the International Radiotelegraph Convention signed at Washington on November 25th. 1927,75 and approved by His Majesty’s Government in Canada, define the conditions under which communications shall be exchanged between Private Experimental Stations (termed Amateur Stations in Canada) of different countries. The relevant provisions in this connection set down under Article 6 of the General Regulations, read as follows:—

Article 6

private experimental stations

1.
The exchange of communications between private experimental stations of different countries shall be forbidden if the Administration of one of the interested countries has given notice of its opposition to this exchange.
2.
When this exchange is permitted the communications must, unless the interested countries have entered into other agreements among themselves, be carried on in plain language and be limited to messages bearing upon the experiments and to remarks of a private nature for which, by reason of their unimportance, recourse to the public telegraph service might not be warranted.

Canadian Private Experimental Stations (Amateur) have in the past and are, until the 1st. January, 1929, when the new regulations become effective, authorized to exchange certain messages within Canada and with other countries which permit it. Such messages are restricted to those coming within the following general headings, viz:—

1.
Messages that would not normally be sent by any existing means of electrical communication and on which no tolls must be charged.
2.
Messages from other Radio stations in isolated points not connected by any regular means of electrical communication; such messages to be handed to the local office of the Telegraph Company by the Amateur receiving station for transmission to final destination, e. g. messages from Expeditions in remote points such as the Arctic, etc.
3.
Messages handled by Amateur Stations in cases of emergency, e. g. floods, etc., where the regular electrical communication systems become interrupted; such messages to be handed to the nearest point on the established commercial telegraph system remaining in operation.

Formal application has now been made to His Majesty’s Government in Canada by Canadian Amateurs requesting that they be [Page 116] permitted to handle messages coming within the classes above outlined with the United States of America and that an Agreement be entered into in this connection, as provided for under Article 6, paragraph 2, of the General Regulations annexed to the Radiotelegraph Convention of Washington, 1927.

It may here be added that the same Agreement is desired with the Philippine Islands, which it is understood will adhere to the Convention through the United States.

I therefore have the honour to request that you may be good enough to inform me whether the competent authorities of the Government of the United States and of the Philippine Islands are prepared to enter into an agreement with His Majesty’s Government in Canada as proposed above.

I have [etc.]

Vincent Massey