714.44A15/89
The British Ambassador ( Lothian ) to the Under Secretary of State ( Welles )
Dear Mr. Under Secretary: Thank you very much for your letter of November 15th in which you informed me that the President had intimated that he would be prepared to nominate a citizen of the United States to serve as umpire on the ad hoc tribunal of international lawyers which it is suggested should be set up to arbitrate in the controversy between His Majesty’s Government and the Guatemalan Government. [Page 191] As I said at our interview on November 14th the terms of reference to this tribunal would be to arbitrate as to the alleged nonfulfilment by His Majesty’s Government of the convention of 1859 between Great Britain and Guatemala. Article 7, I understand, is the question in dispute.
I am naturally very glad to hear of the President’s decision, and am most grateful to him for having responded so quickly to our suggestion and to you for your kind assistance in the matter. I am informing the Foreign Office of the President’s reply and will of course let you know how matters develop.
Believe me, my dear Mr. Under Secretary,
Yours very sincerely,