840.48 Refugees/3791: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 18—1:10 a.m.]
3415. I brought the contents of Department’s 3128, May 15, midnight, to Mr. Eden’s attention and have just received the following communication from him.
“In reply to your letter of May 17 and following our conversation on the same day, I enclose my comments on the message you were good enough to send me regarding the meeting of the Intergovernmental Refugee Committee.
I should be grateful if in sending my comments to your Government, you would explain that on May 8th I sent instructions to our Ambassador to represent to the State Department52 our anxiety to proceed forthwith with the Bermuda Conference recommendations regarding the Intergovernmental Committee, and putting certain points which it seemed to us it might be convenient to settle between our two Governments before the Executive Committee met. We should at the same time as we pursue the question of the calling together [Page 182] of the Intergovernmental Committee, be very glad to have your Government’s observations on the points we raised.”
Begin quote enclosure referred to in Mr. Eden’s letter:
“His Majesty’s Government is in entire agreement with the United States Government in the desire to implement speedily the recommendations of the American and British delegations at Bermuda, and in particular regarding the early meeting of the Executive Committee of the Intergovernmental Committee. Mr. Eden will at once approach Lord Winterton, the Chairman of the Intergovernmental Committee, and ask him to convoke a meeting of the Executive Committee through an approach to the Argentine, Brazilian and Netherlands Governments.
It is noted that in the message of May 15 from the Department of State it is suggested that the place of meeting should be agreed on by all the Government-members of the Executive Committee. So far as His Majesty’s Government is concerned they would be willing to meet at any place convenient to the other Government members, but in view of the fact that the present chairman and director are both in London and the headquarters of two of the member Governments are in the same capital, it had already occurred to His Majesty’s Government that there might be an advantage in having the smaller meeting of the Executive Committee in London, to be followed by the meeting of the full Committee in Washington. Another and more important advantage of having the first meeting in London would be that the Executive Committee, in reconstituting itself and thereafter trying to bring about a meeting of the full Committee on a wider basis, will need unofficial contacts with other Governments of the United Nations established in London. Questions of some difficulty may present themselves which could be more easily smoothed out by informal conversations with the Government concerned than by diplomatic correspondence, whereas if the smaller committee meets in Washington with some of these anticipated questions unsolved an inconvenient gap may occur between the ending of the Executive Committee and the date on which the Plenary Committee can assemble.
While therefore repeating that as far as His Majesty’s Government are concerned they should agree to any place convenient to all fellow members of the Executive Committee, would like to suggest that the advantages should be represented to the United States Government of calling the Executive Committee to meet in London to dispose of all anticipated or unforeseen difficulties as quickly as possible so as to permit of the meeting in Washington of the Plenary Committee at a very early date. While awaiting a reply regarding the place of meeting, His Majesty’s Government will forthwith ask Lord Winterton to issue invitations as proposed in the American note, leaving open for the time being the question of place. As for the date, it may be that by meeting in London the Executive Committee assemble earlier than suggested, so making it possible for the Plenary Committee to meet in the first half of June.”
- British aide-mémoire of May 11, left at the Department by Mr. Law, missing from Department files.↩