CO129-394 - Governor Sir May & Public Offices - 1912 [12] — Page 435

COPY HAS BUEN 1200

1521 DOMINIONS.

427

Govt.

See print B. in 2/11,12. But this restriction on

the liberty of withdrawal seems to be necessitated by

the subject matter of the Convention and by the atti-

tude of other Powers. Moreover the Dominions would

authorize the signature of the Convention on their

behalf on this understanding.

lf, as above proposed, the Dominions are left

as free as non-signatory Powers in the matter of

signing the Convention, I don't see the necessity of consulting

them until the Convention in its final form is sent

out. We were forced by circumstances to tel. to the

Far Eastern Colonies a rough statement of the terms

of the Convention and to ask them to trust the S. of

S.'s discretion as to there being nothing objectiona~!

ble. But it would not be advisable to put before the

Dominions anything but the Convention itself.

Sis J. And weyon.

thes Fo.

Aut

AIC

کا

I thanke

fanposed by

Ez

shave writte

Wesley.

In any further communication

on this subicct. please quote

No. 1700/12.

and addres—

The Under-Secretary of State.

Foreign Office,

J

Pressing.

Sir:-

Jan. 11

1520

London.

Race 15 JAN 12

FOREIGN OFFICE

13th. January, 1912.

With reference to recent correspondence on the subject

of the Opium Conference at the Hague, I am directed by

Secretary Sir E. Grey to forward, to be laid before the

Secretary of State for the Colonies, a copy of a telegram

from the British Delegates dealing with the terms of the

adhesion and ratification clauses of the proposed Convention.

It will be observed that the Delegates are inclined to

accept the revised wording of the clauses put forward by the

German delegates, but they consider that, instead of ratifi-

cation by the Signatory Powers being contingent upon adhesion

by all the non-Signatory Powers of Europe and America

(as suggested by Germany), the condition of ratification

should be the adhesion of a substantial number of the non-

Signatory Powers invited to adhere.

It is believed from the words of the telegram "adhesion

tw.) Lati

The Under Secretary of State,

Colonial Office.

and