75 Department of External Affairs to Eggleston
Cablegram 206 CANBERRA, 8 February 1946
SECRET
Your No. 117 F.E.C. [1]
Minter has just informed us verbally of telegram he has received
in reply to Dr. Evatt's note [2] summarised in telegram to you No.
136 of 25th January. Telegram advises that United States
Government is taking the note as Australian acceptance to
invitation to participate in the work of the Commission. it points
out that the United States Government have worked strongly for
democratic principles and will use their endeavours to maintain
them. United States will also do their best to achieve final
approval of policies on which the Advisory Commission and its
Committees have already reached agreement.
2. In view of United States assumption that acceptance was
implicit in Minister's note we are taking no further action in the
matter. [3]
1 Dispatched 4 February. In it Eggleston requested confirmation of
information from the U.S. State Department that Australia had
accepted the U.S. invitation conveyed in Document 6 and asked why
he had not been informed.
2 Document 50.
3 Eggleston replied on 9 February, 'presuming' that Australian
representatives should now attend meetings of the new Commission
and requesting instructions. Evatt nominated Eggleston as
Australian representative 'for the time being', with Lavarack to
assist him. At the F.E.C.'s first meeting on 26 February,
Eggleston expressed Australian regret that the terms of reference
had been drawn up without consultation with other powers
concerned, and that voting procedure was 'not consistent with
Australia's position as a party principal in the Pacific War'. New
Zealand also formally opposed the veto arrangement.
[AA:A1838/2, 483/1/7]
