711.922/75

Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Sayre)

At the invitation of the Siamese Minister, I took dinner with him and Luang Pradit12 on Saturday evening, December seventh, so that I might discuss with them the question of the revision of the Siamese Treaty. After dinner we discussed the matter in a very informal way and I outlined to them the suggested procedure for the revision of the Treaty, i.e., the drawing up of a new treaty providing that all the Articles of the old Treaty should be continued in force except Article III and that Article III should be supplemented by a new draft. At the time of the signing of the treaty, informal notes would be exchanged such as suggested in the draft which I had already submitted to the Siamese Minister, in which the Siamese Government would give an assurance that it would undertake to refrain from monopolizing the importation, distribution or sale of any commodity to the prejudice of the interests of American nationals now possessing in Siam property necessary for the importation, distribution or sale of such commodity, and also undertaking to give to American nationals most-favored-nation treatment with regard to land ownership in Siam. I also explained that this new treaty would have to be submitted to and ratified by the United States Senate in order to become binding.

In this connection, at the request of the Siamese Minister, I gave him a copy of the accompanying suggested draft note13 to be given by the Siamese Government to the United States Government in reply to the note of the United States Government.

We also discussed informally the form which the new Article III should take. I left with the Siamese Minister a copy of the recent Canadian trade agreement14 and suggested the possibility of using the formula concerning monopolies contained in that trade agreement as a substitute for the present Article III. I also suggested the new form of Article III offered in the memorandum of June 21, 1934, given to the Siamese Minister by this Government.15

In the course of the discussion, Luang Pradit spoke of the possibility of Siam’s giving an exclusive monopoly for the smelting of tin and asked whether, in my opinion, it would violate any of the provisions in the Treaty of 1925 between Siam and Great Britain.16 I replied that [Page 1111] as to this matter no answer could be given without careful study although it might be possible to bring such an exclusive grant within the state monopoly provisions of the British Treaty. I naturally refrained from making any decisive reply as to this matter.

The Siamese Minister and Luang Pradit said that they would at once get into cable communication with Bangkok and would let me know the results as soon as they have definite information.

F[rancis] B. S[ayre]
  1. Luang Pradit Manudharm, the Siamese State Councilor for the Interior.
  2. Infra.
  3. See vol. ii, pp. 18 ff. For text of agreement signed November 15, 1935, see Department of State Executive Agreement Series No. 91, or 49 Stat. 3960.
  4. Foreign Relations, 1934, vol. iii, p. 845.
  5. Signed July 14, 1925; League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. xlix, p. 51.