Cablegram E123 CANBERRA, 24 November 1947
IMMEDIATE PERSONAL SECRET
Your E.69.
1. Commenting on Chinese note United Kingdom Government states that its views on composition and voting procedure at preliminary Japanese Peace Conference remain as stated at Canberra Conference.
New Zealand Government has now informed London that it favours composition and voting procedure agreed upon at Canberra and cannot accept Chinese proposal.
2. In these circumstances if you concur I propose to send the following short telegram without argument to Commonwealth Relations Office and to New Zealand Government:-
‘We are glad to note that United Kingdom Government adheres firmly to decisions on composition and voting procedure reached at Commonwealth meeting in Canberra. These decisions in our view provide the only equitable and satisfactory basis on which the proposed conference can take place.’[1]
3. The Government to which stronger note should be addressed is United States of America and you might wish to instruct Ambassador at Washington to point out to Secretary of State that we have learnt of latest Chinese proposals and to remind him of undertakings given to us by United States in the past.
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1 This message was conveyed to Noel-Baker and Fraser on 1 December.
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[AA : A1068, P47/10/61, v]