611.4731/192a: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham)
376. From a perusal of Confidential Bulletin No. 111, dated August 12, 1936,28 you will observe that an exchange of views between the two Governments has been interrupted pending the search for a new approach to the Government of Australia. We now believe that during the past few months several developments both within Australia and elsewhere have so confirmed the favorable outlook for Australian financial and economic stability as to lead us to feel that reconsideration of Australia’s policy, stated to have been based on fear of its financial position, should now be undertaken. We wish to call these developments to the attention of that Government, pointing out that the most important of all recent developments from the point of view of pastoral and agricultural raw material countries, has been the move for currency stability. We would point to the British Government’s part in this move and its admonition to other nations to make it effective by relaxation and abolition of restrictive measures and also to Mr. Bruce’s statement on October 6 before the Second Committee when he expressed faith in our policies. The message would go through Moffat as usual and would include a reminder to Australia of its expressed friendship which we hope might now be made articulate by removal of those restrictions alleged to have been necessary because of an outlook which has now been substantially brightened.
We have felt and Moffat has concurred in the opinion that British Government support of our appeal to Australia would help to effect a change of heart in the Lyons Cabinet. We all believe that any British pressure upon Canberra in the past few months must have been [Page 771] encouraging to its policy of artificial diversion. If this is true it might be harder to obtain British support in the direction of an immediate reversal of policy, but in view of recent British appeals to foreign countries we feel that there is some hope that a special general appeal might be made by the British Government to members of the British Commonwealth, if not a special appeal to Australia in this specific matter. We submit to you therefore the suggestion that you call upon Eden and talk to him along the following lines:
- (a)
- We propose to send the Australian Government a note as outlined above.
- (b)
- We recognize the independent status of Australia in the conduct of its foreign affairs, but we cannot help but feel that its defection from a general commercial policy calculated to rehabilitate world trade must be of such concern to the British Government as to justify its proffering friendly advice to Mr. Lyons. We feel that such an appeal would be wholly in line with the British action in sending special appeals to Scandinavian and other countries equally independent in the formulation of commercial policy.
Please telegraph what attitude Eden displays toward the request that he approach the Australian Government, and your own estimate of his general attitude regarding the British Government’s interest in the commercial policies of the independent units of the British Commonwealth and of Australia in particular.29