was approved . . . 34 and that the mandate for Syria would come automatically into force as soon as the negotiations between the French and Italian Governments have resulted in a final agreement. It was further understood that the two mandates should come into force simultaneously."

10. In these circumstances His Majesty's Government are anxious that nothing in the proposed convention should give rise to the impression that the suspension of capitulatory rights in Palestine should not take place until the conclusion of peace between the allied powers and Turkey and the consequent formal issue of the mandate. In their view the mandatory régime has now received formal sanction and will come automatically into force in the manner described in the minutes of the Council of the League, to which reference is made above, and they trust that the United States Government will agree that in these circumstances the provisions of article 8 of the mandate fully safeguard the legitimate interests of American citizens in Palestine.

11. With reference to article 10 of the mandate His Majesty's Government have inserted in the convention a new article 5 as follows: "the extradition treaties and conventions in force between the United States and the United Kingdom shall apply to Palestine." His Majesty's Government trust that the United States Government will see no objection to such an article but they would of course be prepared to accept in its place an assurance from the United States Government that they regard the words "foreign powers" in article 10 of the mandate as applying to the United States.

12. I transmit, herewith, for convenience of reference copies of the Anglo-American convention amended in accordance with the suggestions set forth above.

I have [etc.]

CURZON OF KEDLESTON

[Subenclosure]

Draft Convention between the United States and Great Britain Regarding the Mandate for Palestine

WHEREAS for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations a mandate for the administration of Palestine, including therein the territories lying between the Jordan and the eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined, has been entrusted to His Britannic Majesty, and

WHEREAS the terms of the mandate in respect of Palestine have been defined by the Council of the League of Nations as follows:84 Omission indicated on Foreign Office memorandum.

(Insert terms of mandate in full).

and

WHEREAS His Britannic Majesty has accepted the mandate in the above terms in respect to Palestine and has undertaken to exercise it on behalf of the League of Nations: and

WHEREAS the Government of His Britannic Majesty and the Government of the United States of America are desirous of reaching a definite understanding as to the rights of their respective Governments and of their nationals in Palestine:

His Britannic Majesty and the President of the United States of America have decided to conclude a Convention to this effect and have nominated as their plenipotentiaries

have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1

who

Subject to the provisions of the present convention the United States consents to the administration by His Britannic Majesty, pursuant to the aforesaid mandate, of Palestine, as defined in the Preamble hereto.

ARTICLE 2

The United States and its nationals shall have and enjoy all rights and benefits secured under the terms of the mandate to members of the League of Nations and their nationals, notwithstanding the fact that the United States is not a member of the League of Nations.

ARTICLE 3

Vested American property rights in the mandated territory shall be respected and in no way impaired.

ARTICLE 4

A duplicate of the annual report to be made by the mandatory under article 24 of the mandate shall be furnished to the United States.

ARTICLE 5

The extradition treaties and convention[s] in force between the United States and the United Kingdom shall apply to Palestine.

ARTICLE 6

Nothing contained in the present convention shall be affected by any modification which may be made in the terms of the mandate, as recited above, unless such modification shall have been assented to by the United States.

ARTICLE 7

The present convention shall be ratified in accordance with the respective constitutional methods of the High Contracting Parties. The ratification shall be exchanged in London as soon as practicable. It shall take effect on the date of the exchange of ratifications.

His Britannic Majesty's Government agree that in the conduct of any provisional administration of Palestine pending the entry into force of the mandate the rights and privileges of American citizens, as defined by this convention, shall be fully respected. There shall be no suspension of capitulatory rights prior to the entry into force of the mandate.

Under date of October 2nd a communication was received by the American Embassy in London from the British Foreign Office suggesting certain changes in previous drafts of the proposed Convention relating to the Mandate for Palestine.

While the Department is not adverse to proceeding with the consideration of this question, it has been felt that in view of the Lausanne Conference it might be agreeable to the British Foreign Office to await the termination of the present negotiations with Turkey before continuing the correspondence for the conclusion of the Palestine Mandate Convention.

African Territories

800.01 M 31/105b: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain

(Harvey)

WASHINGTON, April 4, 1922-11 p.m. 97. Reference your despatch No. 811 December 23, 1921.35 Please communicate the following textually to Lord Curzon at the earliest possible moment.36

36 Several slight typographical errors in the note have been corrected to accord with instructions sent the Ambassador on Apr. 7 (file no. 800.01 M 31/106c).

"In your Lordship's communication of December 22, 1921,87 your Lordship has stated the views of His Majesty's Government with respect to the British mandates for East Africa, Togoland and the Cameroons. The question of the mandate for Palestine has been discussed in your Lordship's note of December 29, 1921 38 and in my note of (here insert reference) 39

As I stated in that note, referring to my memorandum of August 24, 1921 the position of my government must necessarily remain unchanged since the views advanced were confined to the purpose of safeguarding the interests of the United States and the fair and equal opportunities which it was believed the United States should enjoy in common with the other Powers.

Your Lordship sets forth that it has never been the intention of His Majesty's Government to deprive the United States of any of the rights and privileges to which it is entitled as a result of the common victory over Germany. My Government had entertained no doubt that this was the attitude of Great Britain, and welcomes the cordial assurance that His Majesty's Government is quite willing to meet the wishes of the United States.

In view of this understanding, my Government is convinced that there will be no difficulty or delay in the negotiation of a treaty embodying the assent, upon appropriate conditions, of the United States to the terms of the draft British mandates for East Africa and the British parts of Togoland and the Cameroons. As I have explained in my memorandum of August 24, 1921, the right of the United States in the territories, to which Germany has renounced her title, could not be disposed of without the assent of my Government, and, for the reasons given in my memorandum, the appropriate manner of expressing this assent would be through a treaty. Such a treaty could recite the articles of the mandates setting forth the engagements of the Mandatory and should contain appropriate undertakings on the part of His Majesty's Government for the suitable protection of the rights and interests of the United States. This arrangement will, it is believed, obviate any objections such as those suggested by His Majesty's Government by reason of any obligations which the Allied Powers have assumed in the Treaty of Versailles with regard to Germany and with regard to one another. In this view, taking up the various points to which Your Lordship refers, it may be observed:

(1) Discrimination.-In my memorandum of August 24, 1921, I alluded to the provisions for equal commercial opportunity in Article 7 of the mandate for East Africa and Article 6 of the British mandates for Togoland and the Cameroons," and called attention to the fact that these provisions were not extended to the nationals of the United States. My Government does not desire to insist that the

27 Foreign Relations, 1921, vol. II, p. 111.

38 Ibid., p. 115.

39 Note of Apr. 5, 1922; see telegram no. 96, Apr. 3, to the Ambassador in Great Britain, p. 271.

40

See telegram no. 448, Aug. 4, 1921, to the Ambassador in Great Britain, Foreign Relations, 1921, vol. II, p. 106.

"For draft mandates discussed in this note, see ibid., vol. 1, p. 121.

terms of the mandates themselves in their reference to the States, members of the League of Nations, and their nationals, should be altered. It will be sufficient to recite the terms of the above-mentioned articles in the proposed treaty, with the further undertaking that His Majesty's Government will guarantee to the United States and its nationals the same freedom from discrimination that the above-mentioned articles of the mandates give to the States, members of the League of Nations, and their nationals.

The treaty should contain a general provision that the United States and its nationals should have and enjoy the benefit of all the engagements of His Britannic Majesty, defined in the mandates, notwithstanding the fact that the United States is not a member of the League of Nations.

With respect to the matter of monopolistic concessions, my Government is gratified to note that His Majesty's Government has no intention of granting concessions having the character of a general monopoly in the territories in question, or of reserving such concessions to itself. My Government has carefully noted the considerations advanced in Your Lordship's note regarding the advisability, however, of reserving to the Mandatory the right (1) to create monopolies for purely fiscal purposes, in the interest of the mandated territories, in order that the Mandatory should provide the territories with the fiscal resources which seem best suited to local requirements, and (2) to develop such natural resources as can be employed in the public interest, as, for example, water-power, which could be utilized for the electrification of a railway or for lighting purposes.

In view of these considerations my Government is prepared to approve the insertion in the mandates, after the third paragraph of Article 7 of the British mandate for East Africa, and Article 6 of the mandates for Togoland and the Cameroons, of the following paragraph, with a few changes for the purpose of clarity, so that it will read as follows:

'Concessions having the character of a general monopoly shall not be granted. This provision does not affect the right of the Mandatory to create monopolies of a purely fiscal character in the interest of the territory under mandate and in order to provide the territory with fiscal resources which seem best suited to the local requirements; or, in certain cases, to carry out the development of natural resources either directly by the State or by a controlled agency, provided that there shall result therefrom no monopoly of the natural resources for the benefit of the Mandatory or its nationals, directly or indirectly, or any preferential advantage which shall be inconsistent with the economic, commercial and industrial equality hereinbefore guaranteed.'

The changes above suggested are assumed, from the tenor of Your Lordship's note, to be in accord with the intentions entertained by His Majesty's Government.

It is to be understood, of course, that the existing legal rights of American citizens or companies in British mandate territories are fully respected and safeguarded and that the treaty will contain a suitable provision to this effect.

(2) Missionaries and religious freedom.-My Government is pleased to note that the intent of the Government of the United States, in its suggestions on this subject, expressly to assure to American missionaries the right freely to exercise their vocation in