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,^J)OCUMSNT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTYTS GOVERNMENT)
J R E T. COPY NO,
H/ I S E,
C A B I N E T 54 ( 5 5 ) .
Meet ing of the Cabinet to be he ld a t No. 10, Downing S t r e e t , S . W . 1 . , on WEDNESDAY, 11th DECEMBER, 1935,
a t 10.0 a,m,
NOTE: A t t e n t i o n i s i n v i t e d t o t h e a l t e r a t i o n in the t ime o f the meet ing from 11.0 a.m. t o 10.0 a.m.
A G E N D A .
1 ' ITALO-ABYSSINIAN DISPUTE. (Re ference Cabinet 53 ( 3 5 ) ) .
2 . "STATUS QUO IN THE PACIFIC" : ARTICLE XIX OF THE WASHINGTON TREATY.
Note by the Sec r e t a r y , c o v e r ing Report by the Chie fs of S t a f f Sub-Committee.
G,P. 231 (35 ) - a l r eady c i r c u l a t e d ,
Memorandum by the M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s .
C P . 238 (35 ) - c i r c u l a t e d herew i th .
NOTE: With r e f e r ence to Conclusion ( b ) , page 1, o f C P . 231 ( 3 5 ) , the Secre ta ry of S ta t e f o r Dominion A f f a i r s w i l l r epo r t o r a l l y to the Cabinet ins t ead o f c i r c u l a t i n g a Memorandum.
3. PRIOPITY IN SUPPLY TO BE GIVEN TO THE MAIN ITEMS OF SERVICE REQUIREMENTS IN THE EVENT OF A POSSIBLE AGGRESSION BY ITALY.
Note by the Sec r e t a r y , cove r ing Report by a Sub-Committee o f the Supply Board.
C P . 237 (35 ) - c i r c u l a t e d he rew i th .
4 . USE OF TEAR GAS IN THE COLONIAL EMPIRE.
(Re fe rence Cabinet 33 (35 ) Conclusion 7 ) .
Memorandum by the Sec re ta ry o f S ta te f o r the Co l on i e s .
C P . 226 (35 ) - a l r e ady c i r c u l a t e d .
5 0 ESTABLISHMENT OF MUNICIPAL MIDWIFERY SERVICE.
(Re f e rence Cabinet 49 ( 35 ) Conclusion 5 ) .
Memorandum "by the M i n i s t e r o f Hea l th . C P , 230 (35 ) - a l r eady c i r c u l a t e d .
6. RATING AND VALUATION: PROPOSED BILL.
(Re f e rence Cabinet 11 ( 34 ) Conclusion 1 5 ) .
Memorandum by the M i n i s t e r of Hea l th . C P . 228 (35 ) - a l r e ady c i r c u l a t e d .
7. WATER POLICY.
(Re f e r ence Cabinet 22 (35 ) Conclusion 7 ) .
Memorandum by the M i n i s t e r o f Hea l th . C P . 227 (35 ) - a l r eady c i r c u l a t e d .
( S i g n e d ) M.P.A. HANKEY,
Sec r e t a r y to the Cab ine t .
2 , Wh i t eha l l Gardens, S . W . I . ,
10th December, 1935.
-nnHTIMENT IS THE PROPERTY OP HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY1 S GOVERNMENT). H I S
COPY NO.
C A B I N E T 54 ( 5 5 ) .
CONCLUSIONS of a Meet ing o f the Cabinet he ld a t 10, Downing S t r e e t , S . W . 1 . , on WEDNESDAY,
11th DECEMBER, 1935, a t 10 a.m.
PRESENT:
The R igh t Hon. S tan ley Baldwin, M.P . , Prime M i n i s t e r . ( i n the C h a i r ) .
fae Bight Hon. The R igh t Hon. j , Ramsay MacDonald, N e v i l l e Chamberlain, M.P . , Lord Pres ident o f the Counc i l . Chance l lor of the Exchequer.
5The Right Hon. The R i gh t Hon. The Viscount Hailsham, S i r John Simon, G . C . S . I . , Lord Chance l l o r . K .C .V .O . , O.B.E. , K.C. , M.P. ,
Sec r e ta ry of S ta te f o r Home A f f a i r s .
:The Right Hon. The R ight Hon. The Viscount H a l i f a x , K ,G . , A. Duff Cooper, D . S . 0 . , M.P . , C C S . I . , G . C . I . E . , Sec re ta ry of S ta te f o r War. Lord P r i v y S e a l .
The Right Hon. The R ight Hon. Malcolm MacDonald, The Viscount Swinton, G .B .E . , Secretary of S ta t e f o r Dominion M.C. , Secre ta ry o f S ta t e f o r A f f a i r s . A i r .
The Most Hon. The R i gh t Hon. The Marquess o f Ze t l and , S i r Godfrey C o l l i n s , K .B .E . , C C S . I . , G .C . I .E . , Sec re ta ry C.M.G., M.P . , Sec r e ta ry o f of State f o r Ind ia . S ta t e f o r Sco t l and .
The Right Hon. The R ight Hon. J.H. Thomas, M.P. , The Viscount M o n s e l l , G .B.E. , Secretary of S ta te f o r the F i r s t Lord of the Admi ra l t y . Colonies.
The Right Hon. The R ight Hon. Anthony Jiden, M.C. , M, P. , Lord Eustace Pe r cy , M.P . , Minister f o r League o f Nat ions M i n i s t e r w i thou t P o r t f o l i o . A f f a i r s .
The Right Hon. The R i gh t Hon. Walter E l l i o t , M.C. , M.P . , O l i v e r S tan l ey , M.C. , M.P . , Min is ter f o r A g r i c u l t u r e and P r e s i den t of the Board o f F i she r i e s . Educat ion.
The Right Hon. The R ight Hon. Sir K ings ley Wood, M.P. , Ernest Brown, M.C. , M.P . , Minister o f Hea l th . M i n i s t e r o f Labour.
The R ight Hon. W. Ormsby-Gore, M.P . , e F i r s t Commissioner o f Works.
Colonel S i r M.P.A. Hankey, G.C.B. , G.CM.G. , G.C.V.O. , Secretary. .
mj-R ITALO-ABYSSTNIAN DTS?TTTE.
Co-operation by other Nations i n an Emergency .
(previous Reference: Cabinet 50 ( '3*) ) .
1 . The M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Rat ions A f f a i r ?
gave the Cabinet a summary o f the r e p l i e s by v a r i ous
count r i es to approaches which had been made to them
f o r c o - ope ra t i on i n the event o f an aggress ion by
I t a l y a r i s i n g out o f s a n c t i o n s , T i e s e may be
summarised ve ry b r i e f l y as f o l l o w s : -
PRANCE: No news s ince the Meeting o f the Cabinet mentioned in the marg in .
GREECE: P u l l c o - ope ra t i on can be r e l i e d on . A Naval A t tache at Athens has been asked fo r (See be low) .
TURKEY: The answer i s a complete and uncond i t i ona l acceptance o f our th e s i s .
YUGO-SLAVIA: S i t u a t i o n l e s s s a t i s f a c t o r y than the above . ""he Naval f a c i l i t i e s we had asked f o r would be placed at the d i sposa l o f R is Ma j es t y ' s Sh ips . Consu l ta t i on w i th o ther members o f the L i t t l e Entente and w i th Athens and Angora in progress .
There was some doubt as t o whether the above
count r i e s wouh conform to our reques t to make a
d e c l a r a t i o n s i m i l a r to the d e c l a r a t i o n o f s o l i d a r i t y
a l r eady made by the French Government. A l though,
apart from t h i s , t h e i r genera l a l t i t u d e appeared.
s a t i s f a c t o r y , the re was v e r y l i t t l e in format ion as
t o what t h e i r c o - o p e r a t i o n would, mean i n p r a c t i c e .
Spain had been approached, through the Spanish
Ambassador in London, WHO had. promised, to communicate
w i t h the President, o f the Republic . No r e p l y had. as
y e t been r e c e i v e d .
The M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nations A f f a i r s asked that any te legrams pass ing between the Admira l ty and Greece r e l a t i v e to the proposed Naval A t tache should pass through the Fo re i gn O f - i c e .
(NOTE: Further d e t a i l s on th i s quest ion are contained i n C . I . D . Paper D .P .R . - 54 . )
TOT? ITALO-ABYSSINIAN DISPUTE.
Proposed Redispos i t i on of Ships i n the Mediterranean.
2 . The F i r s t Lord o f the Admira l ty informed the
Cabinet that the Chie fs o f S t a f f Sub-Committee had
r e c e i v e d a. combined app r e c i a t i on from the Commanders
i n - C h i e f o f the Navy. Army and A i r Force in the
Med i t e r ranean , ^he i r recommendations inc luded
proposa ls f o r a r e - d i s p o s i t i o n o f c e r t a i n ships i n
the Med i te r ranean, notably that two Ba t t l e sh ips
should be withdrawn from the Eastern Medi terranean i n
exchange to - " a B a t t l e C ru i s e r . I f the proposa l was
approved, the Ba t t l e sh ips would be withdrawn from the
Medi terranean a l t o g e t h e r , brought home and paid o f f ,
as the Admira l ty would be g lad to have t h e i r crews
f o r o ther purposes . The o b j e c t o f the exchange was
that the B a t t l e Cruiser would. haT.,'e g r e a t e r speed and
be ab le t o s t rengthen the L ight Cruiser f o r ces i n the
Eastern Med i t e r ranean , For the purposes f o r which the
exchange was proposed, t h e r e f o r e , the F l e e t i n the
Ea.st.ern Medi terranean would be s t rengthened , but the
F i r s t Lord f e l t bound to in form h i s co l l eagues that
-from a. pub l i c po int o f v iew i t might be i n t e r p r e t e d
as a wea.ken.ing o f the F l e e t . I f the proposa l was
sanc t i oned , the ques t ion arose as t o whether I t a l y
should be in formed. In th i s connect ion he reminded the
Cabinet that the I t a l i a n s were moving t roops wi thout
any n o t i f i c a t i o n to o ther n a t i o n s .
The Cabinet agreed —
( a ) "h-:at. at the present juncture i t would be i nadv i s ab l e f o r p o l i t i c a l reasons to take any a c t i o n which might be regarded p u b l i c l y as weakening our Naval p o s i t i o n i n the Medi terranean:
( b ) "hat i f the Admira l ty s t i l l wished to make the change they should r a i s e the ques t i on a l i t t l e l a t e r , when i t was qu i t e p o s s i b l e that the p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n might be changed and a f a vou r ab le r ep l y might be g i v e n .
- irALO- 3 . The Cabinet resumed d iscuss ion o f the quest ions ABYSSINIAN pjcpTjTE. r e f e r r e d t o i n the margin, as begun on December 9th and
?he proposed continued on December 101 h . Basis f o r peace D i s - As the Cabinet were assembl ing, a t e l eg ram (No .263 cuss ions .
from P a r i s ) from S i r R. V a n s i t t a r t was c i r c u l a t e d me proposed Embargo on i n t ima t i ng that w. Lava l had accepted the v i ews o f the Oil Supplies
for I t a l y . Cabinet as expressed, i n the t e l egram sent, t o Pa r i s on
the prev ious day ^Cabinet 53 ( 3 5 ) , Appendix T i l ) . (previous Reference: The M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nations A f f a i r s Cabinet 53 (35), Con- r epo r t ed tha t the te legrams to I t a l y and Abyss in ia elusion 1.) had been sent o f f l a t e on the prev ious e v en ing .
"Hie Cabinet then discussed the l i n e to be taken
^4 A ^ u w ^ . by the M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nations A f f a i r s at
Geneva .
The M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nations A f f a i r s
expressed, the hope that he would not be expected to
champion the proposa ls made to I t a l y and Abyss in ia
i n d e t a i l at Geneva. He was not l i k e l y to be success fu l
i f he made the a t tempt , because the r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s
would , i n the ..^ain, a l ready have made up t h e i r minds.
T- ? - .Te was c l e e r that Lava l was going to t r y and weaken
the proposals i n a d i r e c t i o n favourable t o I t a l y .
He suggested that he h imse l f should be author ised to
r e s i s t any such e f f o r t s : t o t e l l M. Lava l o f the
r e a c t i o n o f Parl iament and pub l i c op in i on i n t h i s
country t o what was known o f the p roposa l s , and that
i f any a l t e r a t i o n s were to. be made they should be
ra the r i n the o ther d i r e c t i o n , . As regards o i l
sanct ions the quest ion o f the date would depend upon
the r e p l i e s from the v a r i ous Governments. He thought
our genera l a t t i t u d e should be that we were ready to
take any a c t i o n that/mother members o f the League were
prepared, to t a k e . For p r a c t i c a l purposes, however ,
i t seemed l i k e l y that the quest ion would be postponed
pending r e p l i e s from I t a l y and Abyss in ia t o the peace
proposa ls — to which (as the Chancel lor o f the
Exchequer suggested ) he added the a t t i t u d e o f the
United Sta tes o f Amer ica . I t was p o s s i b l e to conce i ve
however, that the League might wish to act wi thout
regard to the United Sta tes .
The Prime M in i s t e r sa id that the ques t ion o f
whether the o i l sanct ion would, be e f f e c t i v e was a
v e r y important one , and t h i s might depend l a r g e l y on
the a t t i t u d e o f the Uni ted S ta tes o f Amer ica . During
the d i s cuss i on he emphasised more than once that the
ques t i on ought to be dec ided as a business p r o p o s i t i o n
^he sanc t i on ought not to be undertaken unless we
were assured that i t would be e f f e c t i v e ; and. the
ques t ion o f whether America would apply an e f f e c t i v e
embargo appeared, to be one o f the e s s e n t i a l f a c t o r s
in the caee . U n t i l we knew what America was go ing
to do we should hold our hand.
In the course o f the d i s cuss i on i t was po inted
out t h a t , accord ing t o the l a t e s t i n f o rmat i on , o i l
might be sent f o r I t a l y ' s use e i t h e r d i r e c t or
through Japan. Mr C o r d e l l H u l l , the American
Secre ta ry o f S t a t e , on the one hand was express ing
resentment at the idea o f the League w a i t i n g f o r
America, but , on the o ther hand, declined, to say
what America would do . Tn these circumstances i t
was f e l t that too much importance should not be at tach:
ed. to h i s a t t i t u d e . Tn any event i t appeared c e r t a i n
that America could not act e f f e c t i v e l y wi thout the
approval o f Congress . U n t i l then i t seemed that
S ignor Musso l in i could ob ta in enough o i l to carry o n .
I t appeared improbable , t h e r e f o r e , that an o i l
embargo at the present time couL' be e f f e c t i v e .
Another v i ew was that i t was not easy f o r I t a l y
to o b t a i n o i l , ov;j.ng t o the d i f f i c u l t y o f paying f o r
l a r g e q u a n t i t i e s . I t a l y ' s economic p o s i t i o n xvas
d e t e r i o r a t i n g owing to s a n c t i o n s . I t was imposs ib le
t o say whether an o i l embargo would be e f f e c t i v e u n t i l
i t was t r i e d . I t xvas a lso imposs ib le to p red i c t
xvhether, when i t came to the p o i n t , M. Lava l would
r e fuse to co -ope ra t e i n fur ther s a n c t i o n s . I t was
suggested that the proper a t t i t u d e o f T -Tis Majesty" s
Government was, to be prepared t o play t h e i r part so
long as a c t i o n was c o l l e c t i v e , and to j o i n w i th/other
member^ o f the League i f they thought t h i s to be the
most e f f e c t i v e method, o f ending the present d i f f i c u l
t i e s , even at the r i s k o f war . This did not mean,
however, that the date need be f i x ed at p r e s e n t .
P o l i t i c a l l y i t was suggested that the important po in t
was not. t o g i v e an impress ion o^ p u s i l l a n i m i t y , and
that the consequences o f prev ious a c t i on had. not been
thought o u t . Such a course would be d isast rous t o our
p r e s t i g e .
The Cabinet were reminded, r epea t ed l y o f the many
and emphatic d e c i s i ons they had. taken to the e f f e c t
that i n no circumstances would we be drawn in to
m i l i t a r y sanct ions unless assured, o f who le -hear ted
c o - o p e r a t i o n by P rance . Informat ion had accumulated
t o the e f f e c t bo th that an o i l sanc t i on might
p r e c i p i t a t e h o s t i l i t i e s and that who le -hear ted c o
o p e r a t i o n by Prance could not be r e l i e d on — though
r e f e r e n c e was made i n t h i s connect ion to a r epo r t in
" m he T imes" that when M. Lava l had taken t h i s l i n e at
the French Cabinet M. H e r r i o t had cha l l enged him.
A vieitf which met w i th a good deal o f support was
tha t we should aim at mainta in ing the e x i p t i n g sanc
t i o n s , but do our bes t t o avoir" an o i l s anc t i on .
There was no ques t ion o f reducing e x i s t i n g sanc
t i o n s , but at a t ime when the Governments p r i n c i p a l l y
concerned were cons ide r ing the peace proposa ls sent
out on the prev ious even ing , there would be no j u s t i f i
ca t i on f o r f i x i n g a date f o r the a p p l i c a t i o n o f an o i l
s a n c t i o n . On the o ther hand, i t was suggested that i f
I t a l y accepted the o f f e r some c o u n t r i e s , i n c lud ing
Prance , might be unw i l l i n g to cont inue the sanc t i on
agains t h e r .
There was genera l agreement that the M i n i s t e r f o r
League o f Nations A f f a i r s must not, say that we would
in no circumstances agree to the impos i t i on o f an o i l
sanc t ion at some future da t e , or that r ecent events
had removed sanct ions a l t o g e t h e r from the f i e l d o f
act i o n .
The Secre tary o f S ta te f o r Dominion A f fahrs
repor ted on h i s conversa t i ons w i th r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f
the Dominions on the prev ious jday . The A u s t r a l i a n
Nigh Commissioner had noi^ boon ve ry much concerned
about the e f f e c t o f the peace proposa ls on Aus t r a l i an
publ ic o p i n i o n . Other Nigh Cornmissioners, however , had.
been somewhat alarmed at t h e i r probable e f f e c t on
publ ic op in ion in t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e Dominions, and so
on t h e i r Governments. ^hey said that the terms would
be i n t e r p r e t e d as b e t t e r than would have been agreed
f o r I t a l y b e f o r e the war s t a r t e d , so tha t the a.ggressor
would have obtained, an advantage . So f a r as m e r i t s /
were concerned, he and (k&G-$&&&*&$^^
^H" tkt Acrw^ fu&u*f tka.t fyM*j LHA£ M^O $vUcn^ fchat^.
w e j ? c lArbth, Pia^jtH-^M-d-.
had^thoaighi.. Neve r the l e ss there was no mistaking
t h e i r a n x i e t y . They did not f e e l that the exchange
o f t e r r i t o r y i n the North was the main d i f f i c u l t y , but
the l a r g e area "or economic development f o r I t a l y i n
the South. The Nigh Coinmis--ioner o f South A f r i c a ,
i n p a r t i c u l a r , had been concerned, at the prospect o f
arming the N a t i v e s . V/e were not l i k e l y t o have h is
support i f , as was proposed, the O f f i c e r s o f "the
gendarmerie were to be predominantly I t a l i a n . The
Secre tary o f S ta te thought that the d i s l i k e expressed
by the T T i gh Commissioners to t h i s part o f the proposa ls
probably r e f l e c t e d pub l i c op in ion i n t h i s country .
He hoped, t h e r e f o r e , that the re might be some room
f o r mod i f i c a t i ons in d e t a i l .
m he Chancel lor o f the Exchequer quoted the
p r i n c i p l e s that had been enunciated ^y the M in i s t e r
f o r League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s i n the House o f Commons
on the previous even ing , and suggested tha t h is l i n e
might be t o repeat those p r i n c i p l e s , t o say that/the
ques t i on o f whether t h e i r proper a p p l i c a t i o n was
embodied in the proposa ls was a point/he wao p u t t i n g
I t was suggested , however, that t h i s would not
a l t o g e t h e r s o l v e the d i f f i c u l t i e s o f the M in i s t e r f o r
League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s i n support ing these p r o
p o s a l s , s i n c e , qu i t e apart from the p r i n c i p l e s , the
d e t a i l s had been recommended by the Secretary o f S ta te
f o r "Foreign A f f a i r s and M. L a v a l . I f , t h e r e f o r e , I ta ly
accepted them, i t would g i v e M. Lava l an opportuni ty
to drop s a n c t i o n s . A good deal o f d i scuss ion took
p lacp on t h i s p o i n t .
^he M in i s t e r f o r League o^ Nations A f f a i r s thought
tha t the Chance l lor o f the Exchequer 's proposa l that
he should make use o f the three p r i n c i p l e s a v e ry
v a l u a b l e o n e . He did not know how much room he would,
have to manoeuvre as to the proposal f o r an area, o f
c o l o n i s a t i o n . He was c e r t a i n , however, that not only
the Scandinavian Powers but a l so the Mediterranean
Powers, p a r t i c u l a r l y Turkey, would look askance at
t h i s part o f the scheme. I t was p o s s i b l e that w i t h i n
the f i r s t fey/ days I t a l y would accept and Abyss in ia
would not r e p l y . M . Lava l might then t r y and
withdraw the e x i s t i n g s a n c t i o n s . This he intended to
oppose . I f Abyss in ia r e fused , he thought that the
e x i s t i n g sanct ions should continue u n t i l the p a r t i e s
to the s t r i f e agreed on some bas i s o f s e t t l e m e n t . The
t r o u b l e , however, would be w i t h M. Lava l i f I t a l y
a c cep t ed .
A sugges t i on which met w i th s t rong support was that
sanct ions ought to continue unless and u n t i l the re was
an a r m i s t i c e .
The Cabinet were reminded that the League i t s e l f
was a c t u a l l y a par ty to the proposed peace terms,
i n so much t h a t , i n order to render them e f f e c t i v e , the
League ha-' to co -ope ra t e i n nominating a d v i s e r s , and so
f o r t h . I f , t h e r e f o r e , the members o f the League d i s l i k e d
the proposa l they could render i t i n e f f e c t i v e .
The M i n i s t e r for League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s sa id
that a good manymembers o f the League would d i s l i k e the
proposa ls . Some would not be w i l l i n g to i n t e r f e r e w i th
the Uniter- Kingdom and Prance i f they thought that
peace would come o f i t ; but they would d i s l i k e tak ing
any r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i n connect ion w i th a s e t t l e m e n t .
The Cabinet were reminded o f the long-ra.nge aspects
o f the ques t i on , namely, as to the e f f e c t o f what
happened now on d e t e r r i n g a.ggress ion. A good many
people had, p i c tu r ed an end o f the d ispute in which the
aggressor would have l o s t cons iderab ly bo th i n ma t e r i a l
and p r e s t i g e . That was a d i f f i c u l t r e s u l t to ach ieve
w i t h i n a reasonable t i m e . P robab l y , however , most
peop le had. contemplated that the eventua l terms must
inc lude some exchange o f t e r r i t o r y and some economic
p r i v i l e g e s f o r I t a l y , bea r ing i n mind that Abyss in ia
was not a. c i v i l i s e d country an^ had behaved, v e r y badly
i n the pas t , even, to o u r s e l v e s . I f , however , that was
the r e s u l t , i t would come as a shock to publ ic o p i n i o n .
It was suggested that publ ic op in ion ought to -be
g radua l l y prepared f o r a d i f f e r e n t r e s u l t to what i t
had expec t ed . I f we were t o i n s i s t that I t a l y was to
ge t nothing and the whole se t t lement was to be i n favour
o f Abyss in i a , i t was d i f f i c u l t to see an end to the
present t roub le . That was one ob j e c t i n the sugges t i on
that the M in i s t e r f o r League o f Nations A f f a i r s should
base h imse l f on the p r i n c i p l e s . . I f Abyss in ia were to
r e fuse the proposals i t might b e worth wh i l e to put to
them the p r i n c i p l e s . I f they re fused to discuss them
a l s o they might have to be t o l d that we could not back
them any l o n g e r .
Discuss ion took p lace as to whether, in the event
o f a r e f u s a l o f the terms by Abyss in ia and perhaps by
the League o f Na t i ons , a new s i t u a t i o n would, not be
c rea ted in which i t would, be pos s i b l e to drop the
present proposals . I t was r e c a l l e d that we had been
asked by the League to undertake a d i f f i c u l t t ask , and
we had. c a r r i e d i t out to the best o f our a b i l i t y . Me
and Prance were no t , however, speaking in the name o f
c i v i l i s a t i o n , but mer- ly doing our bes t to get the
pa.rt ies t oge the r w i th a v i ew to a s o l u t i o n . I f they
would not. a c cep t , were we not f r e e? I t was suggested,
however, t h a t , having recommended the proposals to the
p a r t i e s , we could not now say that because one par ty
d i sagreed we could s l i p out o f our r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s aid
go back to the former s i t u a t i o n .
The Cabinet were reminde^, however, that I t a l y ,
because she accepted these p r oposa l s , could not
expect to escape from sanct ions which had been imposed
because she had been des ignated an agg r esso r . *Ve
ought , t h e r e f o r e , to mainta in sanc t i ons ; but i f they
broke down owing t o the a t t i t u d e o f o ther jaat ions
we could not be expected to continue them.
The ques t ion was asked as to what our a t t i t u d e would
be i f the League i n v i t e d France and. ourse l ves to make
another a t t empt .
The M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s said,
he would not agree without r e f e r r i n g to the Cab ine t .
Summing up, he suggested, that our f o r e i g n p o l i c y was
s t i l l based on the League o f Na t i ons , and that we
should t r y and make c o l l e c t i v e a c t i o n e f f e c t i v e .
I f he had to choose between two r i s k s , ( l ) an
agg r ess i on by I t a l y , and ( 2 ) a c o l l a p s e o f the
League, he would cons ider the former the l e s s e r e v i l .
In t h i s l a t t e ^ connect ion , however , the Cabinet
were once more reminded, o f the fundamental p r i n c i p l e
that we were not t o become invo l ved i n h o s t i l i t i e s
unless France was w i th u s . --/Ye we re , o f course ,
prepared to take our part in c o l l e c t i v e a.ction, but
only on cond i t i on that that a c t i on was c o l l e c t i v e i n
every sense o f the term, namely, both in i t s immediate
a p p l i c a t i o n and in any consequences to which i t might
g i v e r i s e .
I t was suggested to the M i n i s t e r for League o f
Nat ions A f f a i r s that he should see M. Lava l and. put
to him ve ry s e r i o u s l y the consequences that would
ensue i f France were to withdraw from s a n c t i o n s .
m ha t would smash the League. -Vas M. Lava l w i l l i n g to
take tha t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ? Ne was a l so asked by one
member o f the Cabinet to remember that, the main ob jec t
o f the n e c o t i a t i o n s was to get the p a r t i e s round, a.
t a b l e , wh i l e mainta in ing the e x i s t i n g s o l i d f ront on s a n c t i o n s .
The M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s said^
tha t a t e l eg ram had been sent to Abyssinia, on the
prev ious evening urg ing the Emperor t o e x e r c i s e h i s
usual statesmanship i n dea l ing w i th t h i s proposa l and
not to re ject , i t out o f hand. The Emperor 's p o s i t i o n ,
however , was not easy , and his i n t e r n a l s i t u a t i o n might
be a f f e c t e d .
sex
The Prime M i n i s t e r , summing up, said that the
d i s cuss i on had shown a. cons iderab l e measure o f agreement
w i t h the l i n e suggested at the outset o f the d iscuss ion
by the M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nations A f f a i r s , who
at Geneva would be i n a r e l a t i v e l y i s o l a t e d p o s i t i o n
somewhat s im i l a r to that o f a M in i s t e r a c tua l l y
address in,: the House o f Commons, and would, bear i n
mind the v i ews o f h is c o l l e a g u e s , r e f e r r i n g to them
f o r i n s t ruc t i ons in case o f n e c e s s i t y .
The t rend o f the d i scuss ion may be summed up as
f o l l o w s :
( a ) That , i n regard to the proposals made to
I t a l y and Abyss in i a , the M in i s t e r f o r
League o f Nations A f f a i r s would have t o
use h i s d i s c r e t i o n , according t o the
circumstances he encountered at, Geneva,
as to how fa r i t was necessary for him
to champion them, e s p e c i a l l y i n d e t a i l .
He might f ind i t b e t t e r to base h imse l f
on the three main p r i n c i p l e s on which,
as he h imse l f had announced in the House
o f Commons on the prev ious even ing , the
proposa ls were founded, v i z . :
( l ) An excha ge o^ t e r r i t o r y convey ing d e f i n i t e advantages to both s i d e s :
( 2 ) League ass i s tance to E th iop ia f o r the purpose o f s o c i a l , economic and admin i s t r a t i v e developments:
(3) Spec i a l f a c i l i t i e s for I t a l i a n s e t t l e r s and I t a l i a n companies i n connect ion w i th that economic development.
The M i n i s t e r would have to bear in mind
the c r i t i c i s m which, at a Meet ing on the
prev ious day, the T-Tigh Commissioners o f ]This passage was [drafted be fo re the the Dominions had d i r e c t e d aga inst the karlier part o f the inc lus i on and proposals f o r an I t a l i a n Zone o f Economic ^ommunieated as a ... ^ajjt to the M i n i s t e r Expansion and Co lon i sa t i on i n Abyss in i a , ?or League o f Nat ions Stairs just b e f o r e and. which was l i k e l y to be the f ea tu re
departure f o r G?neva on December 11th ^ 2 p.m.
most c r i t i c i s e d in t h i s country and.,
indeed , at Geneva i t s e l f . Re should
t h e r e f o r e be on h is guard aga ins t
acqu i esc ing in any m o d i f i c a t i o n o f the
proposa ls i n favour o f I t a l y such as
M. Lava l might be expected to sugges t .
Re should not h e s i t a t e to inform M. Lava l
o f the r e a c t i o n o f pub l i c op in i on i n th i s
country to the proposals so f a r as they
were known, and to i n d i c a t e that i f any
a l t e r a t i o n s were to be made they must be
r a the r in favour o f A b y s s i n i a ,
( b ) As regards o i l sanct ions the M i n i s t e r f o r
League o f Rat ions A f f a i r s should be
author ised to i n d i c a t e , i n r ep l y to
e n q u i r i e s , that the re had been no change
o f p o l i c y on the part o f R is Ma j e s t y ' s
Government, but t h a t , pending a c l e a r i n g
up o f the a t t i t u d e o f the va r i ous p a r t i e s
towards the bas i s f o r d i scuss ion o f peace ,
the ques t ion o f f i x i n g a date was not
l i k e l y to a r i s e . Re should be c a r e f u l ,
however , not to say that we would in no
c ircumstances agree to o i l sanct ions at
some future d a t e , " he important th ing
f o r him to secure was that during the
coming week the re should be no date f i x e d
f o r o i l s a n c t i o n s . I f circumstances should
a r i s e which brought the ques t ion once more
to the f ront at Geneva, he should, t r y and
arrange f o r i t to be dea l t w i th as a
bus iness p r o p o s i t i o n and ask f o r an
i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f the p r a c t i c a b i l i t y o f
r ender ing i t e f f i c a c i o u s , hav ing infnind
more e s p e c i a l l y the uncer ta in ty o f e f f e c t i v e
action by the United States of America. I f he found himself in a position of difficulty he should communicate with
See note on " ^ page 11* London for1 further instructions .
4. The M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s
proposed. Rg in force m e n t o f t h e gar r i son .
r eca l l ed , that at a Meeting o f the Defence P o l i c y and
Requirements Committee on December 6th he had ra i s ed
the ques t ion o f the fur ther re in fo rcement o f Tgypt .
(previous Reference: Gsbinet 45
Conclusion 1.)
As at that moment, however, the
l i t t l e e a s i e r , he had agreed to
o f the matter u n t i l next week,
p o s i t i o n had been a
de fe r considered, i on
^he s i t u a t i o n in
Rgypt, however , had not improved, and he would be
g l ad i ^ the sub jec t could be c ons i d e r ed . Tn r e p l y
to a ques t i on he said, the l a t e s t in fo rmat ion was that
a l l p a r t i e s were un i t ing aga inst Nessim Pasha.
The Prime M i n i s t e r informed, the Cabinet that
he had a l ready arranged f o r a Meet ing o f the Defence
P o l i c y and Requirements Committee on the morrow,
Thursday, December 12th, at 5.30 p .m. , and that t h i s
sub jec t was on the Agenda Paper .
0
5 . The attention of the Cabinet was drawn to the ^ P O S S I B I L I T Y
fact that during the next twenty-four hours at least OK
t^f&N O F F I C E PO
mqv: ABSENCE the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Minister gi?CRF?ARY P S T A F F . for League of Nations Affairs and the Permanent Tinder-
Secret ary of State for Foreign Affairs would all be out of the country. It was suggested that, in the absence of the Secretary of State, the Permanent Under-Secret ary of Stabe ought to be present .
The Prime Minister said that he himself had taken responsibility for the Foreign Office d.uring the absence of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
S / Sir Robert Vans ittart, on the following evening. &R tho moanfed- e- the Parliamentary Nnder-Secretary would act as intermediary between the Foreign Office and himself.
m"S ATTTS QUO" IN 6. The Cabinet had b e f o r e them the f o l l o w i n g WE PACIFIC .
— documents on the sub jec t o f the "Status Quo" i n the A r t i c l e XIX 0 f the P a c i f i c and the advantages or d isadvantages t o the Washington Treaty. United Kingdom o f renewing A r t i c l e XIX o f the
Washington T r e a t y : (previous Reference: A Note by the Secre tary ( C P . - 2 3 1 ( 3 5 ) ) Cabinet 48 cove r ing a Report by the Chie fs o f S t a f f (-35), Con- Sub-Committee, who had reached the
"e lus ion 9 . ) f o l l o w i n g Conc lus i on :
"From the s t r a t e g i c a l po int o f v i ew i t would, we cons ide r , be to our advantage t o be no l onge r bound by the a ta tus quo agreement, but the advantage to us o f i t s abroga t i on i s dependent on a number o f f a c t o r s which we have re f e r red , to above . I t i s c e r t a i n tha t i f we are unable , f o r f i n a n c i a l or o ther r easons , to p lace Pong Kong in a s t a t e o f defence equ i va l en t t o that i n which the Japanese w i l l c e r t a i n l y p lace t h e i r bases , then we s h a l l stand to l o s e more than we s h a l l g a i n . I f , on the o the r hand, i t i s dec ided that A r t i c l e XIX,, amended t o meet the needs o f the present day, be r e t a i n e d , then we s t r ong l y urge tha t we should ob ta in some quid pro quo from Japan i n o the r d i r e c t i o n s f o r the r e t e n t i o n o f that A r t i c l e as was done i n 1922 . "
The Note s t a t e d that the Sub-Committee on Defence P o l i c y and Requirements had considered the above Repor t , but , owing to the l a r g e p o l i t i c a l i ssues i n v o l v e d , a f f e c t i n g not on ly our p o s i t i o n in the Far Fast but a l so tha t o f the Commonwea l th o f Austra l ia , and. the Dominion of New Zealand, the Sub-Committee recorded the f o l l o w i n g C o n c l u s i o n s :
" ( i ) That the questions, ra i s ed i n the Report by the Chie fs o f S t a f f Sub-Committee on the ' S t a tus Quo' in the P a c i f i c should be reserved f o r the Cabinet owing to t h e i r importance, and placed on the Cabinet Agenda f o r t h e i r next Mee t ing :
( i i ) To ask the Sec r e t a r y or S ta te for F o r e i g n A f f a i r s and the Secre tary o f S ta t e f o r Dominion A f f a i r s to arrange f o r Papers t o be prepared g i v i n g t h e i r cons idered v iews on t h i s matter f o r the in format ion o f the Cab ine t . "
A Memorandum by the M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s ( C P . - 2 3 8 ( 3 5 ) ) conta in ing an a p p r e c i a t i o n o f the p o l i t i c a l c ons ide ra t i ons i n vo l v ed in the r e t e n t i o n or o the rw i se o f A r t i c l e XIX o f the Washington Trea ty — furnished in accordance w i th ( i i ) above — and
sugges t ing the f o l l o w i n g as perhaps the bes t course to be pursued :
" ( l ) At the appropr ia te moment, express read iness to pro long th i s p r o v i s i o n o f the Washington T r e a t y , sub jec t on ly to such mod i f i c a t i ons as may be necessary t o b r ing i t up to date i n v iew o f the development o f the requirements o f a i r defence s ince 1922 .
( 2 ) I f Japan demands mod i f i c a t i ons unacceptable to us . they can be r e j e c t e d wi th the knowledge that we s h a l l not much mind i f A r t i c l e XIX d i sappears . I f Japan proves i n t r a c t a b l e , she must take the blame fo r the non-renewal o f the A r t i c l e .
(3) In any ease , a s c e r t a i n the v i ews o f the United Sta tes De l e ga t i on (who may have new i n s t r u c t i o n s ) b e f o r e a d e f i n i t e d e c i s i o n i s taken that i t would be in our genera l i n t e r e s t , from a p o l i t i c a l as w e l l as from a s t r a t e g i c a l po int o f v i e w , to a l low these d i s p o s i t i o n s o f the "Washington T rea ty t o d i s appea r . "
In the course of the d i scuss ion the Sec re ta ry
of S ta t e f o r Dominion A f f a i r s r epo r t ed that he had
consu l ted the A u s t r a l i a n and New Zealand Governments
who had no s t rong views on the ques t ion . He asked,
however, that i f the sub jec t d id come up a t the Naval
Conference i t should be d iscussed f i r s t w i t h the
B r i t i s h Commonwealth De l e ga t i ons .
A t t e n t i o n was a l s o drawn to a te legram from
His M a j e s t y ' s Ambassador a t Tokyo (No. 326) s t a t i n g
that accord ing t o the newspaper "Asah i " Japan was
not anxious to r e t a i n A r t i c l e XIX of the Washington
Treaty but would have no reason t o ob j e c t i f i t s
r e t e n t i o n was des i r ed by the Uni ted S t a t e s . This
however, i t was po in ted ou t , might only r e f l e c t what
the Japanese Government wished us t o th ink .
The Cabinet were reminded that we could only
obta in s t r a t e g i c a l advantages from abandoning
A r t i c l e XIX i f i t were p o s s i b l e t o spend a good dea l
of money on the defence o f Hong Kong and that o t h e r
v/ise we should stand to l o s e more than we should
ga in . In any e v en t , t h e r e would probably have to
be some cons ide rab l e expendi ture on i t s de f ence .
The Cabinet ag reed :
( a ) That on balance the advantage appeared t o l i e i n renewing A r t i c l e XIX of the hashington T r ea t y .
( b ) That we should endeavour t o secure some compensation in exchange f o r i t s r e t e n t i o n .
( c ) That i f the quest ion was r a i s e d a t the Naval Conference , i t should be d iscussed w i th the B r i t i s h Commonwealth D e l e g a t i o n s .
SERVICE RE-QTJIREMENTS ENmRE EVENT OF P POSSIBLE AGGRESSION BY ITALY.
P r i o r i t y i n Supply to .
(Previous Reference: Cabinet 3 5 ( 3 5 ) , Oonc lus ion 6. )
^3 6)/.
7. The Cabinet had be f o r e them the Report o f a
Sub-Committee o f the Supply Board ( C P . - 3 3 7 ( 3 5 ) ) ,
c i r c u l a t e d t o the Cabinet by d i r e c t i o n o f the Prime
M i n i s t e r , dea l ing w i t h the ques t i on o f p r i o r i t y i n
supply on main items o f Se r v i c e r equ i r ements . The
Report had been considered by the Sub-Committee on
Defence P o l i c y and. Requirements on December 6th , when
the f o l l o w i n g d ra f t Conclusions were r e a c h e d :
" ( a ) To take note o f a Report by a Sub-Committee o f the Supply Board on p r i o r i t y i n supply to be g i v en t o the main items o f S e r v i c e requirements i n the event o f a p o s s i b l e agg r ess i on by I t a l y . (Paper No .D .P .R .56 . )
( b ) To approve that p r i o r i t y as between the Defence Departments should cont inue to be g i ven t o the product ion o f a n t i - a i r c r a f t ammunition and an t i - t ank ammunition and. equipment,
( c ) In order t o ob ta in increased output from e x i s t i n g con t rac to r s and to e n l i s t the resources o f new f irms as a fu r ther bas is o f supply , to author ise the Defence Departments t o take genera l a c t i o n to b r i n g in to e f f e c t at the e a r l i e s t p o s s i b l e date the p o l i c y o^ the shadow armament industry r e f e r r e d to i n paragraph 9 o f the Report (Paper No . D . P . R . - 5 S ) , the cond i t i ons necessary to ach ieve t h i s b e i n g :
' ( i ) An approved l ong- te rm programme guarantee ing funds to the Depar t merits .
( i i ) Cont inu i ty o f o rders t o the t rade so that con t rac to rs may be a t t r a c t e d by business p r o p o s i t i o n s and. so that personnel and estab l ishment superv i s ing s t a f f s may be t r a i n e d .
( i i i ) Subs id ies whether taken up i n the cost o f the produced, a r t i c l e or . in d i r e c t payment.
( i v ) Greater recourse t o non-compet i t i ve con t rac t s .
Cont inui ty o f o rders should be guaranteed f o r a p e r i od o f three to four y e a r s ' .
I t be ing understood that as regards cond i t i ons ( i i ) and. ( i i i ) i t would probably be necessary , in the case o f l a r g e non-armament f i r m s , to proceed by g i v i n g these f i rms t r i a l o r d e r s , p rov id ing them wi th the necessary j i g s and. t o o l s , and making arrangements so tha t t h e i r o r g a n i s a t i o n would be ready and a v a i l a b l e i n an emergency,
( d ) That the Defence Departments should take a c t i o n on the recommendations g iven i n Conclusion ( c ) above through the Treasury Emergency Expenditure Committee.
- 1 9
( e ) That the Defence Departments, in consu.lta t i o n w i th the Chairman o f the Supply Eoar-1 and the Treasury , should make such add i t i ons t o t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e s t a f f s , whether f o r work in connect ion w i t h the P r i n c i p a l Supply O f f i c e r s Committee or i n s p e c t i o n purposes^ as maybe necessary f o r e xped i t i ng supp l i es in t ime o f w a r . "
The a t t e n t i o n o f the Cabinet was drawn
to the f a c t that the Terms o f Re ference o f the
Sub-Committee o f the Supply Board had been l i m i t e d
to the ques t ion o f p r i o r i t y i n supply in the event
of a p o s s i b l e agg ress i on by I t a l y . Conclusion ( c )
of the Defence P o l i c y and Requirements Sub-Committee,
however, had been made to app ly g e n e r a l l y and the
e f f e c t of i t was t o a l l ow the Government Departments
concerned to c r ea t e a shadow armament industry
over the whole f i e l d o f armament supp ly . While
the d e s i r a b i l i t y o f t h i s was not s p e c i f i c a l l y
ques t i oned , i t was sugges ted that a d e c i s i o n t o
o f such importance ought not/be taken except as pa r t
o f the genera l r e v i ew o f Defence Requirements that
was about t o be undertaken.
The Cabinet were in formed, however, tha t
a t the meet ing o f the Defence P o l i c y and Requirements
Sub-Committee the P r e s i d e n t o f the Board o f Trade
had opened up the l a r g e r quest ion o f supp l i e s i n t ime
o f war, and that the d i s cuss i on had shown the
d i f f i c u l t y o f s epara t ing supp l i es f o r I t a l y and
Abyss in ia e n t i r e l y from the l a r g e r ques t ion o f
supp l i e s g e n e r a l l y .
The Cabinet ag r eed :
( a ) To approve the recommendations o f the Sub-Committee on Defence P o l i c y and Requirements quoted above so f a r as concerned p repara t i on f o r a p o s s i b l e a gg r e s s i on by I t a l y , inc lud ing the normal procedure s p e c i f i e d in ( d ) o f those recommenda t i ons .
(b ) That any d i f f i c u l t y a r i s i n g in any p a r t i c u l a r case in separa t ing supp l i es f o r the present emergency from those r equ i r ed g e n e r a l l y f o r a major war, should he r e s o l v e d by the Treasury Emergency Expenditure Committee.
( c ) That , subject t o the above, the p o l i c y o f the c r e a t i o n of a shadow armament industry should be r e se r ved f o r cons ide r a t i o n in connect ion wi th the Th i rd Report of the Defence Requirements Committee.
8. The Cabinet had b e f o r e them a Memorandum by
the Secre ta ry o f S ta te f o r the Co lon ies ( C P . - 2 2 5 ( 3 5 ) )
i n the course o f which he recommended that au tho r i t y
might reasonably be g i v en f o r the purchase and use o f
supp l i e s o f t e a r gas by Co l on ia l Governments g e n e r a l l y ,
w i thout p r i o r r e f e r e n c e to the Secre tary o f S t a t e , on
the f o l l o w i n g c o n d i t i o n s and o c c a s i o n s :
( a ) By P o l i c e Forces i n the Co l on ia l Depende n c i e s , when they have r e c e i v e d the r e q u i s i t e t r a i n i n g .
( b ) Normally under the au thor i t y o f the Governor o r O f f i c e r Admin is ter ing the Government, but at the d i s c r e t i o n o f the Head o f the P o l i c e Fo r c e , i f the Governor th inks f i t to de l e ga t e t h i s a u t h o r i t y .
( c ) In c ircumstances such as dea l ing w i th b a n d i t r y , where the r e i s a ser ious r i s k o f c a s u a l t i e s be ing incurred by the P o l i c e Force i f the P o l i c e were unable to use gas and had to r e l y on o ther weapons.
(d.) In the a r r e s t o f armed, i n d i v i d u a l s , who, hav ing sought r e fuge in a b u i l d i n g or o the r p lace o f v a n t a g e , might evade a r r e s t w i t h the aid. o f f i re-arras .
( e ) In dea l ing w i th mobs and r i o t s in cases where i t would o therw ise be necessary to shoot .
At the same t ime the Sec re ta ry o f S ta te proposed,
w i t h the approval o f the Cabinet , t o lay down
cond i t i ons as t o the t r a i n i n g requ i red by the! P o l i c e
b e f o r e the equipment was a l lowed to be used.
A f t e r the Sec r e ta ry of S ta te f o r the Co lon i es
had asked the approva l o f h i s co l l eagues to the above
p r o p o s a l s ,
The Sec r e t a r y o f S ta te f o r Ind ia informed
h i s co l l eagues that he had r e c e n t l y had a t a l k w i t h
S i r Reg ina ld Clarke who had had wide exper i ence
of p o l i c e work in Ind ia and who had been in the
Un i t ed S ta t e s o f America where he had s tud i ed
the use of t ea r gas a ga ins t crowds. S i r Reg ina ld
had convinced him, and he h&d?^s^B4^h*m-tre India
- 2 2
where he would d iscuss the question, w i t h the V i c e r o y .
He warned the Cab inet , t h e r e f o r e , tha t he might . ^ n
432 he coming to them b e f o r e long f o r wider au tho r i t y
f o r the use of t ea r gas than he had a t p r e sen t .
The Cabinet agreed :
To approve the proposa ls of the Sec re ta ry of S ta t e f o r the Co lon ies in C P . 226 (35 ) as summarised above.
M U N I C I P A L M I D W I F E R Y S B R V I C R .
proposed B i l l t o establish.,
(Prev ious Reference : Cabinet 51 (35) , Cone lus ion 4 . )
9. The Cabinet had b e f o r e them a Memorandum by the
M i n i s t e r o f Hea l th ( C P . - 2 3 0 ( 3 5 ) ) seek ing au thor i t y
t o proceed w i th the p r epa ra t i on o f a B i l l to e s t a b l i s h
a Munic ipa l Midwi fery S e r v i c e i n Hngland and .V'ales ,
and w i th any necessary d i scuss ion w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s
o f Loca l A u t h o r i t i e s and o thers concerned. Such a B i l l
was approved in p r i n c i p l e by the Cabinet on cons ide ra
t i o n o f the K ing ' s Speech ( Cab ine t 49 ( 3 5 ) , Conclusion
^ ) , which conta ined a r e f e r e n c e to i t , and was inc luded
in the L i s t o f R i l l s submitted by the Home A f f a i r s
Committee and approved by the Cabinet at the Meet ing
mentioned i n the marg in . In h i s Memorandum the
M i n i s t e r o f Hea l th l a i d b e f o r e h i s co l l eagues f o r
t h e i r approva l some fu r the r d e t a i l s o f the proposed
l e g i s l a t i o n , which i n vo l v ed the i n s t i t u t i o n o f a new
pub l i c s e r v i c e and m a t e r i a l a d d i t i o n a l e xpend i tu r e .
A f t e r hear ing some exp lanat i ons o f d e t a i l
from the M i n i s t e r o f Hea l th , the Cabinet agreed :
To author i se the M i n i s t e r o f Hea l th t o proceed w i th the p r epa ra t i on o f a B i l l t o e s t a b l i s h a Munic ipal Midwi f e ry S e r v i c e in England and Wales, and w i th any necessary d i scuss ion w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of Loca l A u t h o r i t i e s and o thers concerned.
I
IRATING- AND 10. The Cabinet had b e f o r e them a Memorandum by the ( V A L U A T I O N .
M i n i s t e r o f Hea l th ( C P . - 2 2 8 ( 3 5 ) ) seek ing author i t y [PROPOSED
f o r the p r epa ra t i on o f a B i l l t o a s s i m i l a t e i n c e r t a i n B ILL .
p a r t i c u l a r s the law in London, r e l a t i n g to Rat ing and % (Previous J Reference: V a l u a t i o n , to tha t i n the P r o v i n c e s , and to e f f e c t some I cabinet 11 ( 3 4 ) , Con- minor amendments i n the p r o v i n c i a l procedure f o r 5 e lusion 15 . )
i n t e r i m r e v i s i o n o f v a l u a t i o n l i s t s . I t was v e ry
mm
P. ft d e s i r a b l e that the B i l l should become law during the $ ( S t y '
present Sess ion , so that any a c t i on necessary to cor rec t
the new assessments which w i l l opera te from A p r i l next
can be taken during the r a t i n g pe r i o^ then commencing.
The Prime M i n i s t e r warned the M i n i s t e r o f
Hea l th that the Par l iamentary Sec re ta ry t o the
Treasury might meet w i th some d i f f i c u l t y in f i n d i n g
Par l iamentary time f o r t h i s B i l l , hut the M i n i s t e r
s a i d he was prepared to take h i s chance.
Subject t o the above , the Cabinet ag reed :
To au thor i s e the M i n i s t e r of Hea l th to prepare a B i l l to a s s i m i l a t e in c e r t a i n p a r t i c u l a r s the lav/ in London, r e l a t i n g to Rat ing and V a l u a t i o n , to that in the P r o v i n c e s , and t o e f f e c t some minor amendments in the p r o v i n c i a l procedure f o r in t e r im r e v i s i o n o f v a l u a t i o n l i s t s .
WATER POLICY - 11 . The Cabinet had b e f o r e them a Memorandum by
Appointment the M i n i s t e r o f Hea l th ( C P . - 2 2 7 ( 3 5 ) ) p o i n t i n g out of new Jo int Select Com- that i t was h i gh l y d e s i r a b l e tha t the i n v e s t i g a t i o n mi t t ee .
begun by the Jo int Se l e c t Committee o f both Houses
(Previous to cons ider the measures r equ i r ed fo r the b e t t e r Re fe rence : Cabinet conse rva t i on and o r g a n i s a t i o n o f water resources and (35) , Cono lus ion "*'?) s u p p l i e s , and in t e r rup ted by the d i s s o l u t i o n o f
Pa r l i ament , should be continued, and completed; and
p ropos ing , w i th the concurrence o f h i s c o l l e a g u e s , to
move that a new Jo int S e l e c t Committee should be
appointed w i t h the same Terms o f R e f e r e n c e .
The Cabinet approved the proposa ls o f the M in i s t e r o f Hea l th in CoPo 227 (35 ) as summarised above .
2 , Wh i t eha l l Gardens, 8*wf. 1, ,
11th December, 1935.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OP HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
TO BE KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY.
It is requested that special care may be taken to ensure the secrecy of this document.
MOSTSEGEET. COPY NO. JO
C A B I N E T .
I T A L O - A B Y S S I N I A N D I S P U T E .
NOTES o f a M e e t i n g o f M i n i s t e r s h e l d i n t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r f s R o o m , H o u s e o f Commons , on MONDAY,
1 6 t h DECEMBER, 1 9 3 5 , a t 9 o 0 p . m 0
P R E S E N T :
T h e R i g h t Horio S t a n l e y B a l d w i n , Mo P. ? P r i m e M i n i s t e r , ( i n t h e C h a i r ) .
The R i g h t H o n . T h e R i g h t H o n s
Jo Ramsay M a c D o n a l d , N e v i l l e C h a m b e r l a i n , M o P o , L o r d P r e s i d e n t o f t h e C o u n c i l . C h a n c e l l o r o f t h e E x c h e q u e r .
The R i g h t H o n . T h e R i g h t Hono S i r J o h n S i m o n , & . C . S . I o , K . C . V c O o , Ao D u f f C o o p e r , D . S . O . , M . P . , OoBcE. , K o C . , MoPo , S e c r e t a r y o f S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r W a r B
S t a t e f o r Home A f f a i r s .
The R i g h t H o n 0 T h e R i g h t H o n 0
The V i s c o u n t S w i n t o n , G o B . E . , W a l t e r R u n c i m a n , M . P . , M o C . , S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r P r e s i d e n t o f t h e B o a r d o f T r a d e . A i r .
The R i g h t H o n . T h e R i g h t Hono The V i s c o u n t M o n s e l l , GoBoEo, A n t h o n y E d e n , M o C . , M 0 P . , F i r s t L o r d o f t h e A d m i r a l t y , , M i n i s t e r f o r L e a g u e o f N a t i o n s
A f f a i r s .
C o l o n e l S i r M o P . A . H a n k e y , G c C B o , G . C . M . G . , G o C . V . 0 . , S e c r e t a r y t o t h e Ca " b i n e t 0
I THS ITALO-AjjYSSINIAN
I lilSPUTE.
fae Proposed port f o r Abyssinia.
The Basis f o r peace Negot iat ions.
The f o r t h c o m i n g d iscuss ions at Geneva.
1. The ob j e c t of the meet ing was to discuss
in a p r e l im inary way, p r i o r to the Cabinet meet ing
on the f o l l o w i n g day, the l i n e t o be taken by the
M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s a t the f o r t h
coning meet ing of the Council o f the League of
Nat ions a t Geneva,
At the outse t of the meet ing the M in i s t e r for
League of Nat ions Affairs gave an exp lanat ion which
he had r e c e i v e d from S i r Robert V a n s i t t a r t as to the
statement pub l i shed t o the e f f e c t that no r a i lway
would be pe rmi t t ed from the coas t po r t to be
ceded under the P a r i s proposa ls by Abyssinia t o I t a l y ,
and a good dea l of d i scuss ion took p lace on t h i s
point,,
Subsequently the M i n i s t e r f o r League of
Nat ions Affairs handed round the d r a f t of a statement
he proposed t o make a t the opening of the Counci l
meet ing ( a p p e n d i x ) , and a f t e r cons ide rab l e d i scuss ion
the g ene ra l l i n e s of the d r a f t were approved, sub jec t
t o some c o r r e c t i o n , f o r submission t o the Cabinet ,
A S the main heads of the d i scuss ion on both
these po in t s were d iscussed by the Cabinet on the
f o l l o w i n g morning and are inc luded in a r ecord of
that meet ing , they are not summarised in t h i s
r e c o r d .
So The Home Secre tary repor ted that Scot land Yard,
had in fo rmat ion that the I t a l i a n P a c i s t League proposed,
to hold a meeting in the London Hippodrome on Sunday
a f t e rnoon , December 29th, f o r the purpose o f s t imu la t ing
vo lun ta ry c on t r i bu t i ons from the I t a l i a n colony in
England to a s s i s t I t a l y i n her East A f r i c a n campaign.
The I t a l i a n Ambassador was expected to speak.
There was no power i n the Execut ive i n t h i s country
to proc la im or p roh ib i t a. lawfu l mee t ing . ^Yie P o l i c e
f e l t ab l e to handle the matter but could not guarantee
that the re would, not be a h o s t i l e demonstrat ion in the
s t r e e t s or some incident, a f f e c t i n g i nd i v i dua l s .
The d e c i s i o n , however , turned on more than P o l i c e
c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . Supposing, f o r example, that there
were a h o s t i l e demonstrat ion aga inst the I t a l i a n
Ambassador, the connect ion o f t h i s w i th the i n t e r
n a t i o n a l s i t u a t i o n was obvious . There might even be
counter demonstrat ions i n Rome against B r i t i s h
s ubj e c t s i n I t a l y .
He sugges ted , t h e r e f o r e , that.- Signor Grandi should
be seen at once and informed that the Government ha^
heard o f t h i s suggested, meet ing but took the view that
such a meet ing was undes i rab l e . I t was p o s s i b l e , o f
course , that i " pressure were brought on the I t a l i a n
Ambassador to drop t h i s meeting he might p r o t e s t
aga ins t meeting"' which were l i k e l y to take p lace
p r o t e s t i n g that B r i t i s h p o l i c y ought not. to a s s i s t the
aggressor and that Abyss in ia should have our back ing .
The r e p l y , however, would be that Signor Grandi ' s
meet ing might produce demonstrat ions o f f e e l i n g which
were undes i rab le and might in jure f r i e n d l y r e l a t i o n s
w i th h is country , but a League o f Nations meeting
would, not produce such demonstrations and was par t o f
the o rd inary e x e r c i s e o f the r i g h t s o f c i t i z e n s i n a
f r e e country .
A f t er a snort discussion — The Ministers approved the line proposed by the oine Secretary and invited him to see Signor Grandi himself and explain why the Government took the view that the. proposed. meeting was und esirahle .
("he Ministers agreed that it was unnecessary to raise the point at the Cabinet.)
Whitehall Gardens, S . Y . 1 ,
December 16, 193K ,
A P F E N D I X.
DRAFT QP STATEMENT TO BE MADE BY MR. EDEN AT GENEVA.
Last November, as my co l l e agues w i l l r e c a l l ,
when the Co -o rd ina t i on Committee agreed upon c e r t a i n
sanct ions which are now in f o r c e , i t s p e c i f i c a l l y , a t
the same t ime , approved a l l at tempts to f i nd a bas i s o f
d i scuss ion between the two p a r t i e s t o t h i s d i spu te ;
and i t p a r t i c u l a r l y welcomed the sugges t i on that His
Ma j e s t y ' s Government and the French Government should
seek to f i n d such a b a s i s . I t was, however, r e cogn i sed
that any proposa l s which these two Governments put
forward must be accep tab l e to a l l three p a r t i e s to the
d i spu t e , A b y s s i n i a , I t a l y and the League.
I t i s c l e a r l y e s s e n t i a l that approva l should come
from the League, For the Members of the League are
bound to r e s p e c t , and to do t h e i r utmost to apply the
Covenant.
I t was no easy tasit which the two Governments
undertook, and, so f a r as His Ma j e s t y ' s Government are
concerned we had no i l l u s i o n as to i t s d i f f i c u l t y .
Indeed, i t may w e l l be mainta ined that i t has proved
to be at the present juncture of events an almost
imposs ib le task . But, as I have s a i d , w i th the good
wishes of the Committee the two Governments made the
at tempt .
I t was proper that the attempt should be made,
however i n v i d i ous the task of those who had to make i t .
Even i f t h i s attempt has been unsuccessful the e s s e n t i a l
importance o f c o n c i l i a t i o n remains, as the League has
f r e quen t l y r ecogn i sed . The p r i n c i p l e t h e r e f o r e was
r i g h t , even i f i t s a p p l i c a t i o n in t h i s ins tance has
not a v a i l e d .
I t must "be emphasised that the Par i s proposa ls
which were put forward l a s t week were not advanced as
proposa ls t o he i n s i s t e d on in any even t . They were
advanced in order t o a s c e r t a i n what the views of the
three p a r t i e s might he upon them, and His
M a j e s t y ' s Government recommend them only f o r t h i s
purpose. I f , t h e r e f o r e , i t t r ansp i r e s that these
proposa ls which are no?/ be f o r e you do not s a t i s f y
the e s s e n t i a l c ond i t i on of agreement by the three
p a r t i e s , His M a j e s t y ' s Government could not cont inue
to recommend or support them. In t h e i r minds th i s
p a r t i c u l a r attempt at c o n c i l i a t i o n could not then he
regarded as hav ing ach ieved i t s o b j e c t , and His
M a j e s t y ' s Government f o r t h e i r pa r t would not wish t o
pursue i t f u r t h e r .
