841.5151/8–2047: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Douglas) to the Secretary of State
us urgent
London, August 20,
1947.
4529. British Treasury announced at 9:20 British Standard Time that a Treasury order (SRO 1947 No. 1785) has been issued effective August 21 with regard to suspension of sterling convertibility. The order repeats the substance of the existing payments orders with the following amendments:
- (1)
- Sterling can no longer be freely transferred from transferable account (of nonresidents of the sterling area) to American accounts or Canadian accounts but remains otherwise transferable as hitherto.
- (2)
- Sterling on Canadian account may only be used in Canada or the sterling area. Canadian transferable accounts disappear. Instructions to banks are being issued by the Bank of England.
Text of Dalton’s broadcast follows.1
Douglas
- Telegram 4530, not printed. In a BBC broadcast Mr. Dalton had announced the suspension of convertibility.↩