Canberra, 23 March 1967
I am sorry to have taken such an unconscionable time to reply to your letter of 22nd February. But we were waiting to see what the reactions of other Departments were to your Savingram No. 3 of 22nd [sic]1 February, which might have had a bearing on this reply. From the length of time taken to draft a reply to your Savingram, you will appreciate that it raised matters of some difficulty for us all. Trade and Treasury, at present, seem inclined to a policy of ‘layin’ low and sayin’ nuffin’ or at least as little as possible. One of the Government’s major concerns, as you will appreciate, is not to be laid open to at least moral pressure from Britain for some forms of compensation, e.g. in the trade field, in the event of a second failure to vault the ramparts, should anything we do have presented a major stumbling block in the way.
[ matter omitted ]
1 It is dated 10 February; see Document 225.
[NAA: A 1838, 727/4/2 PART 6]