741.5314/4
The Chargé in the United Kingdom (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 12.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to the Department’s instruction No. 55 of April 15, 1938, regarding the notes exchanged at Lisbon on May 11, 1936 and December 28, 1937, between Great Britain and Portugal making certain modifications of the frontier between Tanganyika Territory and Mozambique. The Embassy was directed to point out to the Foreign Office that notification to the United States of the above mentioned boundary changes has been apparently overlooked and that while the Department would probably have no grounds for objection to such changes, when officially informed thereof, it continues to regard the principle involved as of importance.
The matter was at once taken up with the Foreign Office in the sense of the Department’s instruction under reference and the Embassy is now in receipt of a note No. W 7459/156/36 of July 1, 1938, which states that, without prejudice to the question whether this step is legally necessary under Article 5 of the Convention signed at London on February 10, 1925, His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom are fully prepared to invite the United States Government to consent to the modification of the frontier between Tanganyika Territory and Mozambique introduced by the exchange of notes of December 28, 1937, and indeed, they desire to take this occasion to do so.
Respectfully yours,