Confidential report from John W. Dulanty to Frederick H. Boland (Dublin)
(Secret Report No. 19)

The Conference of Commonwealth Governments now in session in London has rendered it difficult to reach the four Government representatives for the purpose of handing to each personally, the Aide Mémoire of the 20th October on the forthcoming Repeal of the External Relations Act.¹ Their meetings, numerous and uncertain in duration, has made it impossible thus far for me to get more than fugitive conversations of a few minutes only.

Mr. St. Laurent read the Note through carefully at least three times. His response was tepid and cautious. He doubted whether we had provided adequate argument against the claim foreign countries would make on the Commonwealth for equal treatment with Ireland. When I reminded him of the Geneva Agreement, the Draft Havana Charter, Burma and the Minister's 'Manchester Guardian' interview, he merely said that possibly the British legal pundits might find a way out of the difficulty. As on my meeting with him last week, he enlarged on the case his Opposition would put up, namely that Ireland was trying to have the best of both worlds etc., etc. He would, of course take the Aide Mémoire to Ottawa and go carefully into the question with his Government.

He did not anticipate any further discussion of our question by the Commonwealth Ministers.

Mr. Fraser cordially agreed with the view put forward in the Aide Mémoire. He would much like to have a further talk on the ministerial level and thought Dr. Evatt would like this also. If it would be of any help to us he would willingly stay a few days longer in London. He asked me to see him again when his Conference engagements had finished and asked, particularly, that I should let him know in confidence what Mr. Noel-Baker's reaction was. His present opinion was that the latter was more friendly on our question than he had previously given him credit for.

Dr. Evatt having left for Paris this morning I arranged with his personal Assistant, Professor Bailey,² to transmit immediately both the Aide Mémoire and the Minister's personal letter to Dr. Evatt.

I went by appointment to the Commonwealth Relations Office at 10 o'clock this morning but Mr. Noel-Baker having been summoned to the Foreign Office earlier I was unable to see him. We made two other appointments later in the day both of which had to be cancelled. I went again by appointment at 5 o'clock but Mr. Noel-Baker did not return to his Office until 5.35 p.m. After very carefully reading the Note he began to repeat the usual statement about the legal difficulties involved. He was then called back by the Prime Minister to No. 10 Downing Street. In the few minutes I had with him I suggested that there appeared to be insufficient consideration on their part to the unique fact of the community of interest, deep and long established as it was and, whatever might result from these discussions, likely to continue as far into the future as one could see. Surely this was an occasion not for niggling or huckstering but for enlightened and constructive statesmanship. From their own point of view the Commonwealth obviously stood to gain everything by reaching a relationship with us which the Nations of the Commonwealth would hardly fail to recognise as an imaginative act. He said that he thought they would have to sit down and consider carefully what was their material interest. If the conclusion they reached were in our favour then they might have to think of the possibility, because of an appeal from a foreign country, of a reference to the International Court, a step which he personally would be willing to take. With a promise to make yet another appointment he hurried away.