I have sent the following to Attlee.
'I regard the discussions which you are to have in Washington on
the atomic bomb [1] as most important and I would like to be kept
informed. As you know, Australian scientists made contribution and
we should like to share in the decisions which might be taken as
to the future use of the knowledge which has been acquired.
2. Dr. Evatt will be in Washington during your discussions and I
hope that you will be able to bring him into your conversations.'
[2]
1 Held 10-15 November.
2 In cablegram 1022, dispatched 13 November, Evatt reported his
meeting with Attlee. They discussed the destructive potential of
the new weapon, including the possibility of timing devices and
rocket mechanisms. Evatt informed Attlee of his talks with
Oliphant (see Document 272) and of Oliphant's view that atomic
research offered constructive possibilities, including the control
of climate and fertility in central Australia. He established that
there was no proposal to make pooled technical knowledge available
to the Soviet Union and believed Attlee agreed with him that that
matter could not be solved by the large powers alone. He
understood that both Attlee and Truman thought, as he did, that
the problem of atomic energy could not be separated from the
general problem of international relationships and that protection
against its destructive use depended on the establishment of an
atmosphere of international goodwill. On file SFU : Evatt Papers,
Evatt-Overseas Trips-1945-Cables-Washington.
