(Due to arrive Canberra 15.6.29)

My dear P.M.,

I am almost entirely immersed in a flood of business Connected
with the Antarctic Expedition. J.K. Davis [1] is a pleasant fellow
but he has left all the business to me, other than that connected
with the outfitting of the ship. The negotiation of the press
rights alone has involved my seeing a dozen people to learn my way
about through the pitfalls.

I send another letter by this mail on Reparations. A good, brief
summary of the position up to February of this year is given in
the R.I.I.A. Journal for May, in the form of an address by the
Hon. R. H. Brand. [2] This is on file in the External Affairs
Department.

The practical position, as I see it, is as follows.

Apart from the inhuman proposal of Owen Young [3] that Great
Britain should forego some part of her share under the Spa
percentages [4], it appears to me that there has been rather an
academic atmosphere about the Experts' meetings.

Until a year ago, America was lending money to Germany at a rate
greater than Germany's reparation payments under the Dawes Plan.

[5] Hence no exchange difficulties with regard to transfers were
met. American money practically ceased to enter Germany about a
year ago, and Germany has had, in consequence, to export gold and
to raise her Bank rate, and the mark began to tremble until
outside support was sought.

No solution to the great difficulties of transfer, according to
the people with whom I have talked, has yet been proposed, unless
the functions of the proposed International Bank are to achieve
this in some hitherto unknown manner.

The reason for the slackening off (and eventually practically
ceasing) of American loan money to Germany is a matter for
conjecture. It is probably a combination of domestic American
reasons due to high money rates in New York, together with a
certain uneasiness on the part of the United States as to the
German position.

The letters and papers of Sir Joseph Banks, connected with the
very early days in Australia, were sold for over 7,000 at
Sotheby's this week. I found that the Mitchell Library and the
Commonwealth had jointly sent a representative to London for the
sale and he secured practically the whole lot. I only discovered
this at the last moment, as I had discussed with J. M. Niall [6]
the necessity, in the interests of the Commonwealth, that he
should secure them in the absence of any accredited Commonwealth
buyer. He was willing to do so but I was able to 'call him off' at
the last moment. It was a big price to pay and I don't know where
the bidding came from as the British Museum had generously agreed
not to compete. I cannot imagine any other collection of a few
dozen letters of only 120 years old that would have brought such a
price.

The fortuitous coincidence of the Queensland election surprise and
the launching of the Commonwealth-Queensland Loan in London was
fortunate. [7]

I had to speak after Dougal Malcolm [8] at a private Dining Club
dinner this week, on Australia-but he spoke for 1 1/2 hours and
reduced everyone to pulp. He is rather humourless, although a
pleasant fellow.

The question of the simplification of departmental control over
the Middle and Near East is being investigated here. It has got
rather broadcast, as the Foreign Office, Colonial Office, Air
Ministry and India Office all have fingers in the pie, with the
result that no one quite knows the limits of responsibility of
each department.

Poliakoff ('Times' Diplomatic Correspondent) came to see me this
week. His contribution of the moment towards the betterment of
Angle-American relations and the naval situation is that Great
Britain should voluntarily give up her naval bases in the
Caribbean Sea. The suggestion of giving up anything more makes
one, at first thought, rather hot under the collar, but on second
thoughts it isn't so bad as it sounds. I haven't had time to think
about the implications or talk to anyone-but just give it to you
as the brainwave of the moment.

I enclose a short but delightful series of articles in the 'Times'
(6th to 10th May) by Walter Elliot [9] on the Empire, in the
Kipling manner. It may not be entirely fortuitous that he takes a
colonial topic at this time.

I saw a good deal of Wilkins [10] while he was here, and, to my
great surprise, was able to be instrumental in getting him a
virtual promise of 10,000 from the 'Discovery' Committee [11]
towards the funds for his coming season's operations in the
Antarctic. Before I started work on them, I should have said that
there wasn't a hope of squeezing anything appreciable out of them-
but they fell for the idea, and morally committed themselves in
quick time. This will mean that instead of doing the long flight
(2,000 miles) from Graham Land to the Ross Sea in one jump and
with no support, he will now be able to have a ship in the offing
to come to his aid if necessary -in other words, he is able to
assure himself of another chance of life.

Even if I were not so taken up with Antarctic work, there would
not be much to tell you in this period, as the impending election
has paralysed everybody and very little is going on otherwise.

I am, Yours sincerely,
R.G. CASEY