Mandate unless the specific rights in question are thereby affected. Indeed, the United States having assented, by Article 1 of the Convention, to the Mandate as a whole, it follows that the United States Government have accepted the provision in Article 27 of the Mandate which lays down that the Mandate may be altered with the consent of the Council of the League of Nations. His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom propose to seek the consent of the Council of the League at its September session for any changes in the Mandate of Palestine which may be required as the result of the Royal Commission's Report; but, should any such changes affect any of the United States rights laid down in Articles 2 to 6 of the Convention referred to above, His Majesty's Government will immediately inform the United States Government and seek their consent thereto. 3. While the foregoing represents the views of His Majesty's Government as to their legal obligations towards the United States Government in the matter, they fully appreciate, and indeed welcome, the interest taken by the United States Government in the question of the solution of the Palestine problem, and it is their intention to keep the United States Government fully informed of any proposals which they may put forward to the Council of the League for the modification of the Mandate. The American Ambassador in Great Britain to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, August 4, 1937 I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of July 7, 1937, concerning the rights of the United States and its nationals in Palestine, as determined by the American-British Convention of December 3, 1924. Since the receipt of the above-mentioned note, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on Palestine has been published and my Government has noted that the Commission proposes that the Mandate for Palestine should terminate and be replaced by a treaty system in accordance with the precedent set in Iraq and Syria. In this general connection, His Majesty's Government will recall that at the time of the termination of the special relations between the United Kingdom and Iraq in 1932, the United States Government set forth in some detail its views regarding its rights relating to the termination of mandatory régimes. At the request of my Government, which was anxious to have its views in this matter receive wide publicity, His Majesty's Government was good enough to transmit copies of that correspondence to the League of Nations, and the text of the correspondence was reproduced in the League of Nations Official Journal for January, 1933. The attitude of the American Government, as revealed by this correspondence, was summed up in two paragraphs, one of which appeared in a letter dated March 1, 1932, from the First Secretary of this Embassy to the Head of the Eastern Department of the Foreign Office and the other in an aidememoire, dated July 8, 1932, left at the Foreign Office by this 'See Bulletin No. 38, November 1932, p. 3. Embassy. For convenience of reference these paragraphs are quoted below: "Since the termination of a régime in a mandated territory necessarily involves the 'disposition' of the territory and affects the interests of American nationals therein, the right of the United States to be consulted with respect to the conditions under which the territory is subsequently to be administered is on precisely the same basis as its right to be consulted with regard to the establishment of a mandatory régime. "Accordingly the American Government desires to make a full reservation of its position in this matter and, with a view to avoiding any possible misconception which may arise in the future, to make clear that its action in refraining from insisting upon a fulfillment of its rights in the case of Iraq is not to be construed as an abandonment of the principle established in 1921 that the approval of the United States is essential to the validity of any determination which may be reached regarding mandated territories." The views of my Government as set forth in the above-mentioned correspondence are, of course, fully applicable to the proposed termination of the Palestine Mandate, and it is pertinent to add that those views were brought to the attention of the French Government in August, 1936, during the negotiations between the French Government and a Syrian delegation looking to the termination of the Syrian Mandate. It is hardly necessary, however, to repeat the assurances heretofore communicated to His Majesty's Government that the position of my Government as set forth in the quoted correspondence is based exclusively on its obligation and purpose to provide for the protection of American interests in Palestine on a basis of equality with those of other governments and their nationals. In expressing satisfaction and appreciation for the assurances furnished that His Majesty's Government intends to keep the United States Government fully informed of any proposals which may be made to the Council of the League of Nations for the modification of the Palestine Mandate, I am instructed to request that these proposals may be communicated to my Government in ample time to enable it to determine what, if any, observations it may desire to make with a view to the preservation of American rights in Palestine. HUMANITARIAN EDUCATION THIRD INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON EDUCATION 1 This Government accepted the invitation of the Mexican Government to participate in the Third Inter-American Conference on Education, which was held at Mexico City from August 22 to August 29, 1937, and the following-named persons were appointed delegates on the part of the United States: Mrs. Katherine M. Cook, Chief, Division of Special Problems, Miss Esther J. Crooks, Ph. D., Professor of Spanish, Goucher Dr. Willard W. Beatty, Director of Education, Office of Indian The purpose of these conferences is to promote inter-American accord through education in general and to increase the civic understanding and earning power of American peoples through character education and vocational training. CONVENTION FOR THE PROMOTION OF INTER-AMERICAN CULTURAL RELATIONS 2 United States The Assistant Director of the Pan American Union transmitted to the Secretary of State with a communication dated August 6, 1937, a certified copy of the instrument of ratification by the United States, together with a certified copy of the procès-verbal of the deposit of the said instrument, of the convention for the promotion of inter-American cultural relations, signed at the Inter-American Conference for the Maintenance of Peace, Buenos Aires, December 23. 1936. The deposit of ratification took place on July 29, 1937. HEALTH TENTH CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL UNION TO PREVENT TUBERCULOSIS 3 This Government has accepted the invitation of the Portuguese Government to participate in the Tenth Conference of the Inter 'See Bulletin No. 60, September 1934, p. 6. * See Bulletin No. 94, July 1937, p. 8. See Bulletin No. 33, June 1932, p. 6. 16367-37- -3 11 national Union to Prevent Tuberculosis, which will be held at Lisbon, Portugal, from September 5 to 9, 1937. This Conference was postponed in 1936. The following persons have been appointed official delegates on the part of the United States: Dr. Kendall Emerson, managing director, National Tuberculosis Association, 50 West Fiftieth Street, New York, N. Y., chairman of the delegation. Dr. Charles J. Hatfield, secretary of the National Tuberculosis Dr. Henry C. Sweany, Chicago Municipal Sanitarium, 5601 Dr. Berthold S. Pollak, superintendent of Hudson County Tu- Dr. Stephen J. Maher, 405 Orange Street, New Haven, Conn. Mr. Frederick D. Hopkins, executive secretary, National Tuberculosis Association, 50 West Fiftieth Street, New York, N. Y. Belgium VETERINARY CONVENTIONS + According to a circular letter from the League of Nations dated August 4, 1937, the instruments of ratification by Belgium of the following conventions, signed at Geneva on February 20, 1935, were deposited with the Secretariat on July 21, 1937: Convention for the campaign against contagious diseases of animals and declaration annexed thereto; Convention concerning the transit of animals, meat and other products of animal origin; and Convention concerning the export and import of animal products (other than meat, meat preparations, fresh animal products, milk and milk products). OPIUM AND OTHER DANGEROUS DRUGS CONVENTION FOR LIMITING THE MANUFACTURE AND REGULATING THE DISTRIBUTION OF NARCOTIC DRUGS (TREATY SERIES, No. 863) 5 Southern Rhodesia According to a circular letter from the League of Nations dated July 29, 1937, the British Government has informed the Secretary General in accordance with terms of article 26 of the convention for limiting the manufacture and regulating the distribution of narcotic drugs, signed at Geneva on July 13, 1931, that it desires the convention to apply to Southern Rhodesia. The notification was received by the Secretariat on July 14, 1937. 4 See Bulletin No. 92, May 1937, p. 17. 48 Stat. (pt. 2) 1543; see also Bulletin No. 86, November 1936, p. 14. SAFETY AMENDMENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR PROMOTING SAFETY OF LIFE AT SEA 6 United States The American Embassy at London reported by a telegram dated August 26, 1937, that the instrument of ratification by the United States of the amendment to the international convention for promoting safety of life at sea of May 31, 1929 (Treaty Series, No. 910) was deposited with the British Government on July 27, 1937. 6 See Bulletin No. 94, July 1937, p. 10. |