Cablegram 82 LONDON, 23 April 1947, 9.20 p.m.
MOST SECRET
Your telegram No.101, 19th April.
Peace Settlement with Japan.
We fully understand your preference for a meeting in Australia and should be glad to meet your wishes if it were in any way possible.
Our position is, however, that we regard it as most important that meeting should be held on ministerial level and at the earliest practicable date. But it is really impossible for the Foreign Secretary, who is the Minister primarily concerned, to be absent again from this country for a further prolonged period at the moment. Moreover, the Prime Minister is anxious to be closely associated with the proposed talks and it will not be possible for him to be away from London before the end of the present session.
My own duties in the House of Lords also make it impracticable for me to be away before the end of the session.
We very much hope, therefore, that on further consideration you will find it possible to arrange to be represented at a meeting in London as suggested by us.
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[AA: A1068, P47/10/61, ii]