Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1937, The British Commonwealth, Europe, Near East and Africa, Volume II

611.62M31/107

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham) to the Secretary of State¹⁰

No. 3280

London, August 9, 1937.
[Received August 17.]

Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s telegram No. 196 of May 25, 4 p.m., and to previous correspondence relating to the Mandated Territory of Western Samoa. The Department expressed the desire to obtain, if possible, a copy of the opinion of the Crown law officers which was furnished to the New Zealand Government. This matter was taken up informally with the Foreign Office and I regret to have to report that the appropriate officials there state that it will be impossible for them to furnish the Embassy with a copy of the Memorandum. It was stated that this Memorandum is one of a strictly confidential nature for interdepartmental use only, and that it would be contrary to all their practice and precedents to give us a copy. The refusal was made, needless to say, with expressions of regret.

Respectfully yours,

For the Ambassador:

Herschel V. Johnson

Counselor of Embassy

10. Attached to the original is a memorandum, dated December 31, 1937, from Wallace McClure, Assistant Chief of the Treaty Division, to John Minter of the Division of European Affairs stating: “I believe we agreed this case is in abeyance for the present.”