500.A15a3/1591: Telegram
The Chargé in Great Britain (Atherton) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 5—3:05 p.m.]
169. Reference is made to No. 141 from the Department, May 22, 4 p.m. Today I received a telephone call from Marriner in Paris suggesting that on June 11 he come to London. This question accordingly was informally raised by me with the Foreign Office, who will advise me orally next week of a convenient date for Mr. Marriner to see Mr. Henderson. The present status of the Franco-Italian negotiations will influence the deliberations of the Foreign Office on this. Such negotiations were explained to me in accordance with the following:
It was suggested to Massigli by Craigie in early May that the discussions would not be advanced by further written notes between the two Governments, and that the French should make an oral reply to the British memorandum of April 25. Rosso was also in London at that time. While these three experts were discussing the matter (see paragraph 2, my 161, May 22, 5 p.m.)28 the following purely personal and informal suggestion for overcoming the difficulty was made by Craigie:
That France and Italy should limit construction for 5 years only instead of for 6 years (as under the Anglo-Italian understanding of Bases of Agreement), subject, however, to the overriding stipulation that France should not exceed a figure in the neighborhood of 27, 500 tons or thereabouts in its annual construction. Massigli held this figure to be too low; but, like Rosso, he was interested in the proposal and promised to examine it with the clear understanding, however, that Craigie’s government had not had it under consideration.
According to what I am given to understand, the British Government are entirely opposed to any further British initiative at the moment, and difficulties may be expected in securing acceptance by the British Admiralty of such a proposal even if France and Italy were previously to agree to it.
Because Briand’s political future is uncertain, only methods of continuing the naval negotiations were discussed at Geneva, inasmuch as [Page 421] Massigli pointed out that his hands were tied until after the inauguration on June 13 of the French President. In his conversation with Rosso, however, it was suggested that the Franco-Italian discussions should be continued in Rome, although Massigli said that until after the formation of the new French Government he could make no “definite” arrangements. The basis of the Franco-Italian Rome discussion will be on the lines of Craigie’s proposal outlined above, according to expectations here.
Marriner received a copy of this.
- Not printed.↩