811.24590/7–1146
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Acting Secretary of State
| Participants: | Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr. Walter Nash; |
| Minister of New Zealand, Sir Carl Berendsen; | |
| Acting Secretary, Mr. Acheson. |
Mr. Nash and Sir Carl called on me at their request to take up four subjects of which they had notified me in advance. The other subjects I have dealt with in separate memoranda.63
Mr. Nash said that he had been informed of the talks which Secretary Byrnes had had with Mr. Bevin in regard to the islands of Funafuti, Christmas and Canton. The New Zealand point of view was strongly opposed to a transfer of sovereignty to the United States. They felt that this was unnecessary to accomplish the purposes which we had in mind and was particularly difficult for them in regard to Christmas Island, since that was the most available land between New Zealand and Canada for civil aviation. He thought that this question, as well as that of the rights desired by us in Western Samoa, could be worked out through a regional defense arrangement along the lines put forward by Dr. Evatt.
I asked Mr. Nash whether he wished to discuss the matter, because if he did I would prefer to have Mr. Hickerson present. He said that he was not prepared to discuss it at this time but merely wished us to be informed of their point of view. They would discuss it with us at some later time. I stated that in that event I would take note of what he said and I also wished him to know that we had expressed to Dr. Evatt our disinclination to consider a regional defense arrangement in the Pacific because, first, we did not think it was presently necessary for any military considerations, and, second, it would give rise to a precedent which might be most undesirable in other areas. I pointed out that such a regional arrangement would lack the historical foundation of the Pan American system. Mr. Nash took note of this observation.
- Not printed.↩