Cablegram 171 CANBERRA, 22 July 1944
SECRET
I thank you for your telegrams Nos. 169 [1] and 170. [2] We have authorised representative to sign for purposes of certification.
[3] The matter would never have arisen in Conference which was restricted to the expert level were it not that the Secretary of the United States Treasury intervened and made public statements regarding its deliberations. [4] The Conference is either on the expert level or on the ministerial level and if it is on the former then the Conference should not be given the appearance of being a conference on which nations as nations make agreements.
The very fact that so much trouble has had to be taken at the conclusion to make plain what was really intended is evidence that the Australian Government’s attitude had to be maintained otherwise it would have been construed to have committed either itself or its officials notwithstanding the insistence that representatives were directed otherwise. [5]
CURTIN
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1 Dispatched 21 July. On file AA:A989, 44/735/56/10, i.
2 Document 231.
3 Document 235.
4 See Document 226.
5 Document 194.
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[AA:A989, 44/735/56/10, i]