BRITISH COMMONWEALTH CONFERENCE

(This telegram is sent in place of usual weekly news bulletin)
Conference commenced 26th August in House of Representatives.

Burmese delegate arrived 28th August.

2. Delegates-Australia (Dr. Evatt, Dedman, Pollard), Burma (Thakin
Lun Baw, U Shwe Baw), Canada (Claxton and Greene), India (Rama Rau
and Pararjpye), New Zealand (Fraser and Barclay), Pakistan (Rafi),
South Africa (Lawrence), U.K. (Addison, McNeil, Williams).

3. Dr. Evatt was unanimously elected Chairman.

4. Agenda circulated by Australian Government with minor changes
approved by Conference. (See my immediately following telegram.)
Preliminary notes by Dr. Evatt on subjects covered by agenda
setting out Australian policy were circulated before conference
and have been used as the basis of the Conference discussion. They
have received general acceptance from all delegates with a few
minor exceptions.

5. General agreement exists on following:-

(a) Support for admission of Pakistan to Peace Conference.

(b) Level of representation at preliminary Peace Conference to be
at Governmental level.

(c) Voting at Peace Conference to be by simple majority for
procedural and drafting matters and two-thirds on substantive
matters.

(d) Peace settlement should be pushed forward as rapidly as
possible and initial meeting should be held not later than
September.

(e) Peace Conference will have no alternative except to confirm
territorial changes agreed to at Cairo, Potsdam and Yalta. Ryukyu,
Bonin and Volcano Islands should pass to control of U.S.

(f) Japan should remain completely disarmed. All armament
manufacture and naval shipbuilding should be forbidden.

(g) Japan should not be allowed to manufacture civil aircraft but
general feeling seemed to be that she might be allowed to operate
them in certain cases. Doubts were cast on feasibility of
establishing an international corporation to run internal Japanese
air services.

(h) Democratic principles included in Constitution should be
embodied in Treaty but not Constitution itself.

(i) The constitutional principles implicit in the Potsdam
Declaration, including protection of fundamental human rights
should be written into Treaty.

There should be no discrimination in recruitment and promotion in
Public Service, ultra-nationalistic societies, secret police and
paramilitary organisations should not be established and State
subsidies for Shintoism should not be given.

(k) Civil rights of aliens in Japan should be protected.

(l) Rights of Workers Associations should be assured.

(m) Process which has commenced of dissolving Zaibatsu should
continue Japanese Government should undertake to do so.

(n) Subject to over-riding security controls, Japanese should be
allowed to maintain a workable economy which would not make them a
charge on the rest of the world.

6. Conference so far has been successful, and Australian policies
and interests have obtained general support.