790.5/7–2853
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Director of the Office of British Commonwealth and Northern European Affairs (Raynor)
Subject:
- Menzies’ Statement on ANZUS
Participants:
- Minister Arthur Tange, Australian Embassy
- Mr. H. Raynor, Director, BNA
In the course of a conversation today on other matters, Mr. Tange said he had had an interim reply with respect to the representation I had made to him on Friday on the Prime Minister’s statement. External Affairs will not be in a position to get at the facts of this matter until the Prime Minister reaches Melbourne.
Mr. Tange gave it as his personal opinion that the statement must have been made for domestic political reasons in Australia and he related it in his own mind to a press story recently in Australia to the effect that in London a bitter battle on this question had developed between the two Prime Ministers. He said this story had been without foundation but that for political reasons he thought the Prime Minister may have felt it necessary in this manner to “scotch it”.
He said the matter had come up in a dinner conversation on Friday evening last among the Secretary and Ambassadors Spender and Peaslee. According to Mr. Tange’s report Spender had also attributed the making of the statement in his personal view to domestic political considerations. According to Mr. Tange (he was not present) the Secretary had indicated an understanding of the domestic political problem and had made an observation to the effect that our shoulders were broad and that perhaps on occasion we could stand something of this type.