811.34544/464: Telegram
The Chargé in the United Kingdom (Johnson) to the Secretary of State
[Received January 21—6:40 p.m.]
228. Personal for the Secretary. My 225, January 21, 5 p.m. I have just had a [apparent omission] at their request with the Parliamentary Under Secretary77 (Lord Lloyd78 being ill) and several high officials of the Colonial Office. They had received and studied the memorandum I left with Mr. Eden yesterday on the Newfoundland and Bermuda situations and I was given the following memorandum dated today:
“His Majesty’s Government have agreed in principle to the lease of Morgan and Tucker Islands for a period of 99 years, and the Governor of Bermuda has been informed of the importance attached by the United States Government to an early start on the seaplane base on these two islands. The Governor has also been urged to arrange for legislation to be introduced as soon as possible to provide for the expropriation of private property which will be required for the purpose of the United States bases in Bermuda.”
I told the officials that I would of course be glad to transmit this memorandum at once but that I did not think it was a very definite reply to the representations which I had made under instructions in [Page 63] regard to Bermuda. The Under Secretary said that he quite realized that, but would like to explain the situation which confronts the Colonial Office. They have sent an urgent telegram to the Governor of Bermuda to do his utmost personally to implement the instructions which have been sent him to arrange for legislation to be introduced and passed which would remedy many of the difficulties. While the Colonial Office is hopeful that the Governor may accomplish their purpose, they are apprehensive that if the backs of the Bermudans are put up too much the legislature will refuse to meet the Imperial Government’s views. It was explained that the Imperial Government is in an entirely different position vis-à-vis Bermuda and the Bahamas to any other of the West Indian Island Governments; that the Imperial Government cannot by executive action force the Bermuda legislature to pass any law or to implement any obligation of the Imperial Government. The only machinery for overriding the Bermuda legislature would be an act of Parliament—a last resort which they are most reluctant to invoke as it would arouse extreme hostility in Bermuda and in their opinion would have bad repercussions elsewhere as well as affording material for German propaganda. The Under Secretary and all of his officials most earnestly assured me, and I am sure it is true, that the Colonial Office and the Government in London desire to meet our views as quickly as possible. We will take account of the difficult political situation with which they are faced in Bermuda and not try to push matters to an immediate conclusion. One of the officials present, who was a former Governor of Bermuda, said the single thing that was most alarming the legislature and people now was a clause in the draft lease which would give, in their opinion, blanket authority to the United States to take over in the future any other site on the island they wanted and that they therefore felt that they had no protection; that what they are clamoring for now is some assurance as to where the United States’ requests would stop. The Colonial Office hopes that the meeting shortly to take place here with United States officials will be able to eliminate all serious points of difference and many of the minor ones.
I pointed out to the official that while I could understand that the Bermudans would feel upset at such great changes in their way of life, that nevertheless our officials were under the urgent necessity to begin their programs, that the purposes for which they were there were obviously of overriding necessity and that my Government necessarily had to look to the Imperial Government to implement the agreement contained in our exchange of notes of last September. The Colonial Office readily admits that we must look to the Imperial Government for action, but says they hope the statements which have been outlined above will convince the Department that the Government is doing all it can in a practicable way to effect a speedy solution and they hope [Page 64] we will understand their desire to obtain action through the consent of Bermuda and not through the Imperial Government being forced to override them by an act of Parliament.
They expect an early reply from the Governor and will advise me at once.
I venture to invite your attention to my No. 82 of January 8, 10 p.m.79 with reference to Colonial Office views.