701.4711/55a
The Acting Secretary of State to the British Ambassador ( Lothian )
Excellency: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note no. 527, dated November 30, 1939, in which you advise me that the Government of Australia has come to the conclusion that it is desirable that the handling of matters at Washington relating to Australia should be confided to an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to be accredited by His Majesty the King to the President of the United States, and expresses the hope that the Government [Page 332] of the United States will concur in the appointment of an Australian Minister at Washington on the footing indicated in your note.
In reply I take pleasure in saying that the appointment by His Majesty the King of an Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, who will be furnished with credentials which would enable him to take charge of all affairs relating to Australia, and who will be the ordinary channel of communication with the Government of the United States on these matters, is entirely acceptable to the Government of the United States, and that it will be agreeable to the President to accord him formal recognition at the convenience of His Majesty the King and the Government of Australia.
I wholeheartely reciprocate the wish of the Government of Australia that the establishment of an Australian Legation at Washington, as well as the establishment of an American Legation at Canberra,6 which I hope is agreeable to the Government of Australia, will promote the maintenance and development of cordial relations not only between the United States and Australia but also between the United States and the whole British Commonwealth of Nations.
Accept [etc.]
- A simultaneous announcement of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries was made in the United States and Australia on January 8, 1940. The Australian Legation was established March 5, 1940, and the American Legation July 17, 1940.↩