Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1935, General, The Near East and Africa, Volume I

500.A15A5/482

The Chargé in Italy (Kirk) to the Secretary of State

No. 1280

Rome, August 30, 1935.
[Received September 9.]

Sir: With reference to my telegram No. 528 of August 29, 12 m.,⁶⁶ regarding the reply of the Italian Government to the Memorandum of the British Government on naval armaments, I have the honor to transmit herewith for the Department’s further information a copy and translation of the document which I received in strict confidence from an official of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and on which my above-mentioned telegram was based.

I have the honor to add that it is my understanding that this communication from the Italian Government was presented to the British Embassy in Rome on August 26th.⁶⁷

Respectfully yours,

Alexander Kirk

[Enclosure—Translation]

Italian Memorandum in Reply to the British Memorandum of August 2, 1935

The Italian Government has most attentively examined the memorandum in which the Government of His Britannic Majesty, following the conversations had with it on the subject of naval armaments, sets forth the bases upon which, in its opinion, an agreement could be reached.

I. In the opinion of the British Government, it would be necessary in the first place to work toward new qualitative agreements to replace those contained in the present treaties; for that reason the fundamental purpose of the forthcoming conference should be precisely the conclusion of new qualitative agreements.

As the British Government is aware, the Italian Government has always in the past upheld the principle of the limitation of global tonnage. Nevertheless, for the purpose of facilitating the possibility of new agreements among the leading naval powers, it is disposed to accept the principle of qualitative limitations.

II. As regards tonnage and armament limitations for individual categories of craft, suggested by the Government of His Britannic Majesty as possible bases for agreement, in point 4 of its memorandum, these in a general way would fall in with the ideas of the Italian Government. Before it could, however, pronounce itself on the subject in any definite way, it would be necessary, in the opinion of the Italian Government, to have certain data not yet available upon which to base a decision: it is particularly the naval construction program of the German Government and the intentions of the Governments mentioned in point 5 of the British memorandum to which the Italian Government means to refer.

III. As regards the possibility of a quantitative limitation of naval armaments as well, in the opinion of the Italian Government the only practical possibility which today seems to exist would be that of prompt communication of annual naval construction programs on the part of the individual powers concerned.

IV. As regards the questions referred to in point 8 of the British memorandum, the Italian Government declares itself in a general way favorable to an examination thereof during the forthcoming conference, with a view to an eventual general agreement in the premises.

Rome, August 27, 1935.

66. Not printed.
67. Telegram No. 431, September 10, 1935, 1 p.m., from the Chargé in the United Kingdom, reported that the text of the memorandum was communicated to the British Government by the Italian Ambassador September 4, 1935 (500.A15A5/483).