Cablegram 460 CANBERRA, 25 March 1946
TOP SECRET AND PERSONAL
Would you please convey the following personal message from the Prime Minister to the President through the State Department. As the Prime Minister will be leaving Australia on 14th April he would appreciate a reply from the President as early as convenient, in order that all necessary arrangements may be put in train-(Begins)
My Dear Mr. President, I shall be visiting London next month for consultations with the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and other British Commonwealth Prime Ministers. The discussions in London commence on Tuesday 23rd April and I shall remain there until Monday 6th May when I intend to leave on the return journey.
2. I would consider it a great pleasure and honour to meet you and have a general exchange of views on matters of mutual interest to our two countries. If this is possible and convenient to you I would return from the United Kingdom through the United States.
Under the tentative itinerary planned for my visit, I would expect to arrive in the United States from London about 7th May, and would like to leave from the West Coast on 10th May. In addition to yourself I would like to meet the Secretary of State if a meeting with him is convenient at the time of my visit.
3. I am also desirous of visiting General MacArthur in Tokyo and inspecting the British Commonwealth occupation force in Japan on my way home, and propose to fly from the United States of America to Japan.
4. If a visit to Washington on my return journey on the dates proposed is convenient to you, I should be grateful if you would let me know whether suitable air transport arrangements for my party, which will probably comprise six persons, can be provided by the United States authorities for the journey across the United States and to Japan. The exact composition of the party will be notified later. [1] With kindest personal regards,
J. B. CHIFLEY
Ends
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1 On 28 March the Washington Legation reported informal advice from the U.S. State Department that the dates suggested would be convenient. Chifley met Truman on Thursday 9 May, and had several meetings with Acheson (see also Document 292, note 3). No official record of any of the discussions has been located.
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[AA:A3300, 46/373]