Cablegram LONDON, 22 October 1948
MOST IMMEDIATE Following are comments on discussion at Prime Ministers’ meeting this morning on changes suggested by you. [1]
Paragraph 3. Amendment substituting ‘fully effective’ for ‘more effective’ in relation to work of the United Nations accepted.
Discussion on paragraph 6 relating to Western Union [2] was long and we encountered considerable opposition. However, finally your suggestions accepted almost in entirety partly because of support given to your views by Foreign Secretary. [3], Paragraph 7 relating to consultation remained difficult. All Prime Ministers insisted that nothing should be included which indicated the nature of the recommendations to be submitted to the Governments. [4] Canada and South Africa particularly insistent.
Case was argued strongly and I insisted on fundamental importance of this paragraph as representing major achievement at the Conference. Discussion became acrimonious and finally South Africa and Canada declared that if it was proposed to include any reference in the communique which could be read as indicating the nature of the recommendations submitted to Governments, they would insist upon returning to the consultation document [5] itself as they were unwilling to accept it in its present form unless it was clearly understood that no public reference would be made to the content of the recommendations until after they had had the opportunity to consult their Governments in relation to them. At this point further insistence seemed likely to endanger what you had already achieved. I decided, therefore, to accept a United Kingdom suggestion which would precede the existing paragraph by a statement that the Conference was impressed by the value of the discussions which had taken place at the Ministerial level. After consultation with Bailey [6] and Coombs I was satisfied that further insistence might have meant no reference to consultation at all and the termination of the Conference on an acrimonious note which I am sure neither you nor the Prime Minister would have desired.
Full text follows. [7]
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1 That is, changes to the Final Communique of the meeting (Document 87).
2 That is, the Treaty of Brussels (1948).
3 Evatt had argued that development of Western Union should not indicate any departure from principles of the United Nations.
4 See Document 90 for the Recommendations 5 Document 90.
6 K.H. Bailey, Solicitor-General.
7 Document 87
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[AA: M448,137]