811.0141 Phoenix Group/130
Memorandum of Conversation by the Chief of the Division of European Affairs (Moffat)
Mr. Mallet13 called in the afternoon to present a note regarding Canton Island. He said that the British Government had observed that the Navy Board Report referred to Canton Island as being “among other United States islands in the Pacific”, and appeared to contemplate its development for strategic purposes. The British Government assumed that they would be kept informed of any developments in connection with this plan and that due account would be taken of their [Page 307] rights under the regime we had agreed to. He called attention to Article V of the draft agreement reading, “the use of any part of either of the islands or their territorial waters for aviation, or for any other purpose shall be the subject of agreement between the two Governments”.
The Chargé then went on to express some concern over our delay in answering the British note of November 26th.14 I told him quite frankly that whereas we would probably suggest only a few drafting changes in the exchange of notes the delay was due to an attempt on our part to draw up a new license for Pan American to take account of the new situation, as agreed by Mr. Kennedy,15 Mr. Ickes16 and others. I told him that I hoped very much that we would be in a position to reply in a very few days.
- British Chargé in Washington.↩
- Foreign Relations, 1938, vol. ii, p. 116.↩
- Joseph P. Kennedy, Ambassador in the United Kingdom.↩
- Harold L. Ickes, Secretary of the Interior.↩