383 Burton to Evatt
Cablegram E74 CANBERRA, 20 October 1947, 1.55 p.m.
SECRET PERSONAL
Committee of Three are down to work [1] and Kirby states that
their relationships could not be better. We have accommodated them
at Lapstone, and the informality has helped tremendously to
establish good relations. They will probably proceed to the area
in a few days.
1 Formally titled the 'Committee of Good Offices on the Indonesian
Question', the Committee assembled at the Lapstone Hotel on 19
October. At its first official meeting on 20 October, the
Committee agreed that its members would participate in its work
'with equal rights and responsibilities, not representing either
of the contending parties but acting as a body in the spirit of
the purposes and principles of the United Nations'. It was also
decided that the chairmanship of the Committee would be held in
turn by the three members, each member holding office for a week.
Kirby was the first chairman.
[AA:A9420/1, 2]
