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ppnmfBNT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY8S GOVERNMENT).
T. COPY NO.
C A B I N E T 45 ( 3 5 ) .
Meeting o f the Cabinet to be he l d at No. 10, Downing S t r e e t , S . W . I . , on WEDNESDAY, 9th OCTOBER, 1935,
a t 11.0 a.m.
A G E N D A .
1. THE ITALO-ABYSSINIAN DISPUTE.
( i ) Economic and F inanc ia l Sanct ions .
(Re fe rence Cabinet 44 (35 ) Conclusion l ) .
Report by the Adv isory Committee on Trade Questions in Time of War.
C P . 186 (35 ) - a l r eady c i r c u l a t e d .
( i i ) The Arms Embargo.
(Re fe rence Cabinet 42 (35 ) Conclusion 2 ) .
Question t o be r a i s e d by the Sec r e t a r y o f S ta t e f o r Fore ign A f f a i r s .
( i i i ) In format ion w i t h regard to the supply of commodities to the I t a l i a n Co lon ies in East-A f r i c a .
Memorandum by the Secre tary of S ta t e f o r the Co l on i e s .
C P . 188 (35) - t o be c i r c u l a t e d .
DEFENCE REQUIREMENTS.
(Re fe rence Cabinet 31 (34) Conclusion l ) *
Note by the Prime M i n i s t e r , c ove r ing Memorandum by the Sec r e t a r y .
C P . 187 (35 ) - c i r c u l a t e d he rew i th .
3 * ORGANISATION OF THE COAL MINING INDUSTRY.
(Re f e rence Cabinet 44 (35 ) Conclusion 4 ) .
In ter im Report of Cabinet Committee. C P . 160 (35 ) - a l ready c i r c u l a t e d .
4. INTERNATIONAL LABOUR CONFERENCE, 1934: RATIFICATION OF THE DRAFT CONVENTION REGARDING BENEFIT OR ALLOWANCES TO THE INVOLUNTARILY UNEMPLOYED.
Memorandum "by the M i n i s t e r of Labour. C P . 185 (35 ) - a l r eady c i r c u l a t e d .
( S i gned ) M.P.A. HANKEY,
Secre ta ry t o the Cabinet .
W h i t e h a l l Gardens, S . W . I . ,
7th October , 1935.
DOCUMSOT IS THE PROPERTY OP HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT).
COPY NO.
2 A B I N E T 45 ( 5 5 ) .
CONCLUSIONS of a Meet ing of the Cabinet he ld at 10, Downing S t r e e t , S.W.1, on WEDNESDAY,
9th O c t o b e r 1 9 3 5 , at 11.0 a.m.
PRESENT:
The Right Hon. S tan ley Baldwin, M.P. , Prime M i n i s t e r .
til Right Hon. j . Ramsay MacDonald, M.P. , lord President o f the Counci l .
tie Right Hon. The Viscount Hai lsham, Lord Chancel lor ,
ftp Right Hon. f ir S&muel Hoare, Bt . , C C S . I . , I.B.3., C M . C , M.P. , Sec re ta ry of State f o r Fore ign A f f a i r s .
he Right Hon. T
The Viscount H a l i f a x , O.C.3.I., C C I . E . , Sec r e ta ry i f State f o r ^ s r .
i f Right Hon. . *S i r Ph i l ip C u n l i f f e - L i s t e r ,
I.B.E.. M.C., M.P . , Sec re ta ry of State f o r A i r .
he Right Hon. Sir- Godfrey C o l l i n s , K.B.A.. , C.M.G. , M.P. 9 Sec r e ta ry o l State f o r Scot land ,
M Right Hon. Ifalter Runciman, M.P. 9
president of the Board of T raae .
ft Right Hon. ' I c 1 Eustace P e r c y , Minister without P o r t f o l i o .
M Right Hon. Ipl iver S tan ley , M.C., M .P . , president of the Board of location.
( i n the C h a i r ) .
The Right Hon. N e v i l l e Chamberlain, M.P . , Chancel lor of the Exchequer.
The R ight Hon. S i r John Simon, C C S . I . , K . C V . O . , O.B.E. , K .C . , M.P. , Sec re ta ry ofA f f a i r s .
The Most Hon. The MarquessK . C , M.V.O. ,Sea l .
The Right Hon. J.H. Thomas,Sec r e ta ry ofA f f a i r s .
The Most Hon, The Marquess
S ta t e f o r Home
of Londonderry, Lord P r i v y
M.P . , State f o r Dominion
o f Ze t l and , C C S . I . , C C . I . E . , Secretary o f S ta t e f o r I nd i a .
The Right Hon. Malcolm MacDonald, M.P. , Secre tary of S ta t e f o r the Co lon i es ,
The R ight Hon. S i r Bo l ton Eyres M o n s e l l , G.B.E. , M.P. F i r s t Lord o f the Admiralty
The R ight Hon. Wal ter E l l i o t , M . C , M.P . , M in i s t e r f o r A g r i c u l t u r e and F i she r i e s.
The Right Hon. S i r X ings l ey Wood, M.P . , M in i s t e r of Hea l th .
The R ight Hon. Ernest Brown, M . C , M.P . , M i n i s t e r of Labour.
L O N E LB Sir M.P.A. Hankey, G.C.B. , G. C M . G. , G.C.V.O. . . . S e c r e t a r y ,
rncP! TTALO
nlsPIN1^
position at Geneva.
[previous ' Refer ence? Cabinet 44 -(35), Conelusion 1.)
"be P o s i t i o n I in Lond. on .
1. The Secre tary o f S ta te f o r Fore i gn A f f a i r s
informed the Cabinet tha t at Geneva the course of
events had been smoother than he had a n t i c i p a t e d .
The abs ten t i ons he had. apprehended at the Counci l
had not m a t e r i a l i s e d , and. the re had. been no oppos i t i on
t o the/
In accordance w i th h i s sugges t i on , the P res iden t o f
the Assembly had sxTmrnoned that body t o meet today
t o support the a t t i t u d e o f the Counc i l . The next s tep
was l i k e l y t o be a Jo in t Committee o f the Counci l and
the Assembly t o cons ider s a n c t i o n s . He h i m s e l f had
consul ted the M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nat ions A f f a i r s
and M. Lava l as t o whether i t was d e s i r a b l e that he
should a t t end the Meet ing o f the Assembly. He was
g i v en t o understand, however , that t h e r e would be no
resounding speeches at the Assembly which would
merely se t up the Jo int Committee t o which he had just
r e f e r r e d . As M. Lava l was not summoning the French
D e l e g a t i o n t o Geneva the Secre tary of S ta t e did. not
propose t o attend., but was ready t o proceed the r e at
shor t n o t i c e .
T h e Secre ta ry of S t a t e then gave accounts o f
i n t e r v i e w s he had. had w i th the French,American and
I t a l i a n Ambassadors in London, p a r t i c u l a r s o f which
had. been, or a r e t o b e , c i r c u l a t e d . At h i s i n t e r v i e w
with the French Ambassador h e had p r o t e s t ed a ga ins t
the a t t i t u d e of the French Press and the f a c t tha t
no pub l i c man, in s p i t e of opinions expressed in
p r i v a t e , had made in France a proper pub l i c p r esen ta
t i o n o f the B r i t i s h a t t i t u d e . Sfo^foio $i&lpeaw4few He
had a4**y ( reoe ived the answer of the French Government
t o the B r i t i s h reques t f o r c o - ope ra t i on i n the event
of an a t t a ck on a Power in consequence of the a p p l i c a
t i o n of s a n c t i o n s . ^be French r e p l y was probably
intended t o be s a t i s f a c t o r y , but the Secre tary of S ta t e
i nd i ca t ed two points on which doubts arose and on
which he proposed to make fur ther e n q u i r i e s .
His communications w i t h the American Ambassador
had been p a r t i c u l a r l y s a t i s f a c t o r y . m hey had begun
l a t e on Saturday evening w i th a message t ransmit ted
from the American Secre tary o f S t a t e , who had n o t i f i e d
him that the P res iden t proposed t o i s sue a n e u t r a l i t y
proc lamat ion a t once and intended t o add t o i t the
warning that persons t r ad ing w i th b e l l i g e r e n t s would
do so at t h e i r r i s k , but had wanted t o know f i r s t
whether i t would embarrass our p o s i t i o n a t Geneva.
The Secre tary o f S ta t e for Fore ign A f f a i r s had sont.
warm thanks, and had ind i ca t ed that i t would be use fu l
i f the P res iden t acted at once. On the prev ious day
the American Ambassador, on the s t r eng th o f a message
from P res iden t R o o s e v e l t , had said tha t the Uni ted
S t a t e s , so f a r as they cou ld , wanted t o c o - o p e r a t e ,
and tho Proa i d ant ^report od . that .he/had rarely/known
a matter on which pub l i c op in ion in the United States
was so unanimous as the condemnation o f I t a l y .
Although war ma t e r i a l only had been inc luded in the
embargo, the P res ident prepared t o go fu r the r
i f / t h e l eague did s o . The Secre tary o f S ta t e had
gathered that even co t ton might be i n c l u d e d . The
Ambassador had a l so s t a t ed that the American Imports
and Exports Rank had been, ordered not t o g i v e any
c r e d i t s t o , or t o the advantage o f , I t a l y . He had
l earned that the P res iden t o f the United States was
a l s o th ink ing o f m o b i l i s i n g the s i g n a t o r i e s o f the
K e l l o g g Pact aga ins t I t a l y and was w i l l i n g t o discuss tit the method, of doing s o . This was i n t e r e s t i n g f o r the
reason that i t would f a c i l i t a t e c o - ope ra t i on by
Germany and Japan, as w e l l as cana l i s e American
o p i n i o n . The Secre tary o f S ta t e f o r Fore i gn A f f a i r s
had not y e t had t ime to formulate adv i c e to the
Cabinet as t o how bes t t o f o l l ow up th i s m a t t e r . - 2
The I t a l i a n Ambassador had wanted to see him
l a s t Thursday, but t h i s had. proved imposs ib l e , and.
the Ambassador had seen Sir Robert V a n s i t t a r t and
had g i v en him a genera l o u t l i n e of c e r t a i n proposals
by S igner M u s s o l i n i . Although the i n t e r v i ew had.
taken p lace at 12 Noon on Thursday, by which t ime the
I t a l i a n o f f e n s i v e had begun and Adowa had. been bombed,
the Ambassador had made no r e f e r e n c e t o these m a t t e r s .
When he h i m s e l f saw the Ambassador on Fr iday the
Secre tary o f S t a t e had r e f e r r e d t o t h i s and had
pointed, out the d i f f i c u l t i e s o f d i scuss ing any
proposals w h i l e the I t a l i a n f o r ces were bombing
women and c h i l d r e n . Moreover , the fu r the r they
penetrated i n t o Abyss in ia the harder would n e g o t i a
t-ions become. The Ambassador had read a long p r i v a t e
l e t t e r from Signor M u s s o l i n i , in the f i r s t part o f
which he had. t r ied , t o i n d i c a t e how l i t t l e we under
s tood the I t a l i a n p o s i t i o n , and had suggested some
kind o f n e g o t i a t i o n s ' and in the second part o f
which he had suggested some measure o f d emob i l i s a t i on
i n t h e Med i t e r ranean .
The Cabinet agreed —
That the Secre tary o f S t a t e f o r Fo re i gn A f f a i r s should r e c e i v e any I t a l i a n ove r tures f o r n e g o t i a t i o n s f o r a s e t t l e ment outs ide the League of Nations ve ry c o o l l y a t the present t ime and. t r e a t them w i t h cau t i on : i n any event he must r e c e i v e d e t a i l e d proposa ls b e f o r e the p o s s i b i l i t y o f en te r ing i n t o negot i a t i o n s could, be cons ide red :
(V) Thai in r ega rd t o proposals f o r measures o f d e m o b i l i s a t i o n i n the Med i t erran ean the Secre tary o f S ta t e f o r Fore i gn A f f a i r s should" make c l e a r tha t we had only sent the r e a bare minimum o f nava l and other f o r c e s f o r d e f e n s i v e purposes : tha t t h e r e could be no ques t ion o f d imin ish ing these f o r c e s , and we might have t o send fu r the r r e i n f o r c ements t o Egypt * I f , however , S ignor Musso l in i was prepared, t o withdraw the l a r g e re in forcements he had sent t o L ibya we" would cancel the despatch o f ' r e i n f o r c e m e n t s t o Egypt .
2. The Sec re ta ry o f S t a t e f o r Fore ign A f f a i r s
suggested that the M i n i s t e r f o r league o f Fattens IcpiJR. A. f fa i rs should be ins t ruc t ed t o r a i s e the ques t ion he Arms
Itargo, o f the arms embargo at the new Joint Committee of Miigerent
t h e Assembly and Counci l t o .be s e t up at Geneva, and Ights. that h i s aim should be t o obta in a c o l l e c t i v e dec i s i on
previous which would probably mean a r a i s i n g o f the arms kgf erence '
faninet. 43 embargo in the case o f Abyss in i a . ?5). Con-
Mus ion 2 . ) The Cabinet were reminded, that the removal of
the arms embargo was l i a b l e t o r a i s e the ques t i on
o f b e l l i g e r e n t r i g h t s , on which they were g i v en t o
understand, that, the Fore ign O f f i c e and Admira l ty
had not ye t reached agreement. A sugges t i on was made
j mtK. itt l i f i t i & u . I tha t the^uer-b-lon might be r e f e r r ed t o the Law O f f i c e r s
I Q-dimaM^ j) o f the Crown.
^he Secre tary o f S ta t e sa id "his in format ion was
tha t I t a l y was not l i k e l y t o take any a c t i o n tha t
would r a i s e the quest ion of b e l l i g e r e n t r i g h t s .
The Cabinet were reminded that we ourse l ves might
in the future wish t o e x e r c i s e b e l l i g e r e n t r i g h t s
and ought t o be very careful, as to how the mat te r was
t r eat ed .
The Prime' M in i s t e r informed his co l l eagues that
the question, o f b e l l i g e r e n t r i g h t s was on the Agenda
f o r the Sub-0orom.ittee on Defence P o l i c y and. Requ i r e
in ent a at a Meet ing to be held the same afternoon. The Cabinet agreed —
That the Secre tary o f S ta te f o r F o r e i g n /affairs should be author ised t o deal w i th the Arm??! Embargo on the bas is o f ob ta in ing a c o l l e c t i v e dec i s i o n .
3. The Sec re ta ry o f S ta te f o r A i r informed the 1 mRE ITALO-I ABYS SUM TAW I DISPUTE. Cabinet tha t the Uni ted States Government had included
Arms Embargo. aeroplanes i n t h e i r embargo and tha t we should probably
Poss ib 1 e have t o do the same. Indus ion of A i r c r a f t . The Cabinet agreed —
f a ) That i f aeroplanes should be inc luded in the arms embargo,, t h i s should be done by s imply wi thdrawing l i c e n c e s from I t a l y and. not by the more cumbrous method of f i r s t wi thdrawing a l l l i c e n c e s and then g ran t ing them f o r countr i es o ther than I t a l y :
( b ) mhat the Secre tary o f S t a t eshould send a Memorandum t o
f o r the
A i r
Secre tary o f S ta t e f o r Fo re i gn A f f a i r s -which the l a t t e r could forward t o the M i n i s t e rA f f a i r s .
f o r l eague o f Nations
rnfftf ITALO- 4 . The Cabinet had b e f o r e them a Meraorandtsm by the
nVgptF-B. Secretary of S ta t e f o r the Colonies (C .P . -1S8 ( 3 5 ) )
SrPPlv of on the quest ion whether , i f i t i s dec ided t o impose Gonmodities to the c e r t a i n f i n a n c i a l and economic sanct ions on I t a l y -under I t a l i an Colonies i n A r t i c l e XVI o f the Covenant, the r e should be inc luded T?ast A f r i c a .
among such sanct ions measures t o r e s t r i c t or p r o h i b i t i-previotiS the d i r e c t supply o f commodities by States Members o f Ref erpncp; Cabinet *4 the League t o the I t a l i a n Colonies in Past A f r i c a , e , g . , ( 35 ) , Conolusion i . Commodit ies the export o f which t o I t a l y i t s e l f would
not be r e s t r i c t e d o r p r o h i b i t e d under the sanct ions the
contemplatad but which were be ing imported i n t o / I t a l i a n
Co lon ies in Past A f r i c a in abnormal q u a n t i t i e s , c h i e f l y
f o r the support o f the I t a l i a n armies engaged t h e r e .
I f the States Members o f the League decided, t o take
s p e c i a l a c t i on in t h i s matter i t would presumably be
necessary t o p r o h i b i t a l l d i r e c t t r ade w i th these
Co l on i e s , unless on humanitarian grounds a d i s t i n c t i o n
were made between ( i ) the supply o f f o o d s t u f f s and water
f o r human beings and an imals , which would be a l l owed ,
and ( i i ) the supply of a l l o ther commodit ies, which
would, be p roh ib i t ed .
The Secre tary o f S ta t e f o r the Co lon ies po inted
out that a l though the supp l i es concerned, would be w i t h
he ld as the r e s u l t o f c o l l e c t i v e a c t i o n , the c h i e f
burden go--far ao ' food^t\t f fO '^woro -Q&jq-e*s3me4. would f a l l
on the Past A f r i c an C o l o n i e s , who a t present were doing
very good b u s i n e s s . P r o h i b i t i o n o f exports t o the I t a l i a n Co lon ies would, undoubtedly embarrass the
I t a l i a n s t o some e x t e n t , but would have a -SmmI e f f e c t
on the t rade o f our C o l o n i e s , / t h e r e might poss i b l y be
room f o r an excep t i on in the case o f water and even
f oods tu f f s on humanitar ian grounds feut apart from
t h i s he thought i t would, be ve ry d i f f i c u l t , when we
were c o - ope ra t ing i n the a p p l i c a t i o n o f s a n c t i o n s , t o
a l l ow th i s t r ade t o con t inue . He p laced l e s s emphasis
on the importance of s topp ing the t rade as a sanct ion
than on the moral a s p e c t . I t would be d i f f i c u l t t o
defend the continuance o f t h i s t r ade e i t h e r here or
i n the C o l o n i e s , where the n a t i v e populat ion a l ready
showed s igns o f concern.
I t was suggested, tha t i f wa te r from Aden was t o
b e s topped , the export o f d i s t i l l i n g machines from
G-r eat Br i t a i n sh ou. Id a l s o be a t opp ed .
I n support o f the proposed p r o h i b i t i o n the
Cabinet were reminded tha t the ob j e c t o f the League 's
a c t i o n was t o s top the f i g h t i n g i n A b y s s i n i a . One
o f the most e f f e c t i v e methods was t o p r o h i b i t a l l
e x p o r t s , except p o s s i b l y water and f ood , t o the
armies i n the f i e l d .
/The Cabinet were reminded, however , tha t the
p r o h i b i t i o n of these exports t o the I t a l i a n Co lon ies
would be more o f a g e s tu r e than a form o f p r e s sure ,
s i n c e the I t a l i a n s could purchase the same produce
and m a t e r i a l e lsewhere and ship them from I t a l y t o
t h e i r C o l o n i e s , so tha t t h e r e would only be some de l a y ,
e x t r a cost and ex t ra t ranspor t in the way o f
add i t i ona1 p r e s su r e .
The sugges t i on was made tha t the League would
have t o cons ider exports t o I t a l y commodity by commo
d i t y , There was no r e a l d i f f e r e n c e between sh ipp ing
an a r t i c l e from ( s a y ) Mombasa t o E r i t r e a and sh ipp ing
the same a r t i c l e from Czechos lovakia v i a T r i e s t e to
E r i t r e a . -"Tie proper course , t h e r e f o r e , was t o dec ide
whether a p a r t i c u l a r a r t i c l e was t o be a l l owed to
reach I t a l y at a l l , the co l on i e s be ing cons idered as
par t o f I t a l y . This sugges t i on met w i th much suppor t ,
but the comment was made that the re was a d i f f e r e n c e
between sh ipp ing d i r e c t t o the sea t of war, where the
imports were unabashedly f o r the use o f the army,
and t o I t a l y where t h e r e was a presumption at l e a s t
tha t the a r t i c l e might be r e q u i r e d f o r the c i v i l i a n
p o p u l a t i o n .
Tn connect ion w i th a proposal that the mat ter
should be discussed, in the f i r s t ins tance w i th the
French P r e s i d en t of the Counci l i t was po in ted out
that France and o ther nat ions would c e r t a i n l y want us
t o p r o h i b i t export from our Colonies t o the seat o f
war s i n c e they themselves would not be a f f e c t e d by
the p r o h i b i t i o n at a l l .
The Cabinet agreed. —
That the Secre tary o f S ta t e f o r Fore i gn A f f a i r s should send t o the M i n i s t e r f o r League o f Nat ion A f f a i r s an account o f the Cab ine t ' s discuss i on , p o in t i n g out the d i f f i c u l t i e s and i n s t r u c t i n g him, i f and when the
, ques t ion a r o s e , t o take no dec i s i on but t o r e f e r i t t o London: he should be on h i s guard aga ins t any d e c i s i o n by the Leag\:e o f Nat ions which would
- m i l i t a t e aga inst t h i s country a l o n e .
0
I-AT.O.PYSSTNIAN
Continuance f irope.ri.al
Airways .
5. m h e ques t i on of whether Imper i a l Airways should
he advised t o remove t h e i r base from B r i n d i s l during
the present emergency was ra i sed by the Secre tary o f
S ta t e f o r A i r .
I t was pointed, out. that the r i s k that I t a l y might
s e i z e the a i r c r a f t was shared, by merchant ships In
I t a l i a n harbours ...
The Cabinet were, informed, tha t the I t a l i a n s
themselves ran a l i n e in connect ion w i t h t h i s s e r v i c e '
t ha t they sent vas t q u a n t i t i e s of ma i l s by Imper ia l
A i rways , and. reserved, a passage i n every machine.
R e a l i s i n g tha t the removal e lsewhere o f the base
a t Br ind i s l . would be a somewhat p r o v o c a t i v e a c t , the
Cabinet agreed. —
T h a t f o r t h e present Imper ia l Airways , should be adv i sed t o mainta in the
b as e .
ITALO- 6. The Cabinet had be f o r e them a P r o v i s i o n a l -SSINIAN
Report ( C P . 1 8 6 ( 3 5 ) ) on the forms of Economic and SPOTE.
F i n a n c i a l Sanct ions a p p l i c a b l e t o the present c r i s i a
onofflic and i n connect ion w i th the I t a l o - A b y s s i n i a n d i spu t e , subnancial 3tions. mi t t e d by the Adv i so ry Committee of the Committee evious o f I m p e r i a l Defence on Trade Questions i n Time of eference:
aUnet 44 War, i n accordance w i th the Cabinet Conclusion 35), Conlusion 1. ) mentioned i n the margin.
A f t e r d iscuss ing the Report i n some d e t a i l and
in t roduc ing a number of amendments t o the conclusions
( i n c o r p o r a t e d b e l o w ) , the Cabinet agreed :
( a ) To approve the P r o v i s i o n a l Conclusions submitted by the Adv i so r y Committee on Trade Quest ions i n Time of War i n the f o l l o w i n g am.end.ed form :
( i ) That His Ma j e s t y ' s Government should agree to cont inue the embargo on the expor t of arms and munitions t o I t a l y ;
( i i ) That, sub jec t t o Conclusion ( b ) ( i i ) be low- His Ma j e s t y ' s Government should concur i n any p roposa l t ha t Member S ta t e s should
( a ) P r o h i b i t loans and c r e d i t s t o I t a l y ;
( b ) C o l l e c t t rade debts due t o I t a l y t o l i q u i d a t e trade debts due by I t a l y .
They should NOT at p resent ( encep t by way of r e p r i s a l ) i n t e r f e r e w i th bank balances or other p rope r t y of I t a l i a n s , nor w i th f i n a n c i a l payments due t o I t a l y , nor wi th marine or other insurance . This conc lus ion should NOT be announced;
( i i i ) That His Ma j e s t y ' s Government should be prepared , i n agreement w i th other Member S t a t e s , t o impose an embargo on a l l imports from I t a l y ;
( i v ) That His Ma j e s t y ' s Government should be prepared , i f the p roposa l i s p ressed by other Governments, t o j o i n i n an examinat ion of the p roposa l not t o a l l ow I t a l i a n merchant v e s s e l s t o make use of League p o r t s ;
( v ) That i f o i l producing or supplying Member States, such as Roumanla, were prepared to impose en embargo on exports of o i l , His Majesty 's Government would, be prepared to jo in in this and to consider further an embargo on exports of coal ;
( v i ) That His Majesty 's Government should only concur in a proposal for an embargo on the export of essent ia l materials to I t a l y at the request of other Member States ;
( v i i ) That His Majesty 's Government should be prepared, in agreement with other -Member States , to prohib i t the sa le or chartering of ships to I t a l y ;
( v i i i ) That His Majesty 's Government should not accept proposals fo r the su s pension of pos ta l communications;
( i x ) That, so f a r as poss ib le , agreement should be reached with, other Member States as to the de ta i l s of the operation of any proposals adopted, and not only on the pr inc ip les ,
( b ) That the Secretary of State fo r Foreign A f f a i r s should communicate the above prov is iona l conclusions to the Minister for League of Nations A f f a i r s and should advise him, so f a r as he might deem necessary of any points mentioned in the discussion which would spec ia l l y interest him or bear on the i n t e r pretat ion to be given to the conclusions. Among the points which the Secretary of State was asked to mention were the fo l lowing :
( i ) The importance to I t a l y of the tour i s t t r a f f i c ( s a i d to be worth £30 mil l ions a year ) from the point of view of the balance of trade. The B r i t i s h Tourist t r a f f i c to I t a l y was be l ieved to have sunk almost to vanishing point and i t might be useful for the League to do anything i t could further to reduce the internat iona l tour i s t t r a f f i c to I t a l y ;
( i i ) That i f the proposal in Conclusion ( a ) - i l l ) should ar i se at Geneva. theMinister
fo r League of NVtions Af fa i rs should reserve i t fo r the Chancellor of the Exchequer;
( i i i ) That, as regards Conclusion ( a ) ( i l i ) above, the o r i g ina l proposal of the Sub-Committee had been that His Majesty 's Government should be p r e pared, in agreement with at l eas t France and pre ferab ly with other Member States, to impose an embargo on a l l imports from I t a l y . The object of this proposal had been to put pressure on other nations to do
the same and, by f o r c e of example, t o avo id de l ays . The Cab ine t ' s v i ew was that we should s t i c k c l o s e l y t o the p r i n c i p l e of c o l l e c t i v e sanct ions and they had, t h e r e f o r e / amended the Report i n t h i s r e s p e c t ;
( i v ) That the Cabinet had the g raves t doubts about the a d v i s a b i l i t y of p r o v i s i o n a l C onelus i on ( i v H ab ove. S oraething l i k e 60 per cent , of the po r t s of the world were a f f e c t e d , and t o c l o s e them t o I t a l i a n sh ipp ing , e s p e c i a l l y i n case of bad weather, would he ve ry p r o v o c a t i v e . The Admira l ty had po in ted out. tha t a l l these sanct ions inc reased r i s k s t o peace and, consequent ly , put a s t r a i n on the naval f o r c e s i n the Mediterranean, and. both they and the P res iden t of the Board of Trade would p r e f e r that the proposa l not t o a l l ow I t a l i a n merchant sh ips t o make use of League p o r t s should not be adopted;
( v ) That i n regard t o Conclusion ( v ) £ ) . a
we should not agree to impose an embargo on expo r t s of c oa l t o I t a l y unless corresponding a c t i o n was tai-con by o ther S ta t e s concerned i n c o a l expor t s and by Member S ta t es such as Roumania who were concerned i n expor ts of o i l . The idea of agree ing t o an embargo on c o a l expor ts as an example and an inducement t o Roumania t o w i thho ld o i l d i d not commend i t s e l f t o the Cabinet . Al though c oa l e x p o r t s t o I t a l y had. f a l l e n owing t o I t a l y ' s i n a b i l i t y t o pay, i t had t o be remembered tha t an embargo would, put more miners out of work. I t would, a l s o i n v o l v e a proc lamat ion , and the increase i n unemployment would be l a i d at the door of the Government.' Importance was at tached, t h e r e f o r e , t o the p r e s e n t a t i o n of the embargo on c o a l , and. the Cabinet f e l t i t would be of advantage i f i t could be accomplished i n some manner wi thout a proc lamat ion ;
( v i ) That the impos i t i on of the sanct ions mentioned i n these conclus ions must
t"& ltd aMiUlde ) tfee- gtetre of non-Member S ta t e s .
( c ) That the idea of withdrawing Dip lomat ic Rep r e s en ta t i v e s from the c a p i t a l had, i n the pas t , proved f u t i l e and embarrassing end an obs tac l e t o r e - e s t a b l i s h i n g d i p lomat i c communication when the proper time a r r i v e d . This form of sanc t ion , t h e r e f o r e ,
d id not commend i t s e l f t o the Cabinet who asked the Sec r e t a r y of S ta te f o r F o r e i g n A f f a i r s t o n o t i f y t h e i r View t o the M i n i s t e r f o r League of Nat ions A f f a i r s ;
That as regards Conclusion ( a ) ( i i i ) above, the Departments concerned should be author ised t o proceed w i th the d r a f t i n g of the necessary orders and arrangements.
,HPFNGE RF
rfiVlOUS i Reference: Cabinet 8? (85), Clon-, elusion 1
j-l(U)3. u(^)h
7 . mv,e Cabinet, had b e f o r e them a Note by the
Secre ta ry ( 0 . P . - 187 " ( 3 5 ) ) , prepared under ins t ruc t i ons
of t h " Prime M i n i s t e r , i n f o a r i n g the Cabinet of the
present p o s i t i o n of I n q u i r i e s on Defence Requirements.
The Prime M i n i s t e r sa id that he had ins t ruc t ed
£he Secre tary t o prepare t h i s Note in order that the
Cabinet might be f u l l y informed as to the p o s i t i o n .
The Defence Requirements Committee hoped t o be ab le
to r e p o r t b e f o r e the end o f the present month, and
- the i r Repor t , w i th the Recommendations o f the Sub-
Committee on. Defence P o l i c y and Requirements would
in due course come b e f o r e the Cabinet .
The Chance l l o r of the Exchequer said, that as the
sub jec t of. Defence P o l i c y had h i t h e r t o been d e a l t w i th
by Committees, he was crlad that the Cabinet had been
informed as t o the p o s i t i o n . Re h imse l f wanted t o be
sure tha t he and some of h is c o l l e a g u e s , in a l l u d i n g
to the sub jec t in pub l i c speeches , were i n t e r p r e t i n g
the v iews o f a l l t h e i r co l l eagues . - A f t e r r e c a l l i n g
the va r i ous s tages of Defence Requirements he mentioned
that a pos i t ion , had been reached a few weeks ago when
the Committees f e l t tha t the programmes f o r the Navy
and the Army, in p a r t i c u l a r , which the Cabinet had
a l lowed t o f a l l behind the Royal A i r Fo r ce , r equ i r ed
speeding up . Finance had. been, the governing reason
f o r the two o l d e r Se r v i c e s f a l l i n g behind, but now
the s t a t e o f the wor ld was such that f i n a n c i a l
c ons ide ra t i ons might have t o be rev1 owed in a d i f f e r e n t
l i g h t . Fe then gave some p a r t i c u l a r s as t o the methods
by which an Increased programme might be f inanced , and
asked h i s c o l l e a g u e s , in making speeches , t o avo id any
sugges t i on of a Loan.
The Secre tary of S ta t e f o r Fore i gn A f f a i r s asked
that M in i s t e r s speaking on Defence Requirements should
he ca r e fu l t o keep w i t h i n the framework o f our that
i n t e r n a t i o n a l peace p o l i c y and/-the d e s i r a b i l i t y of
c u t t i n g down the standard o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l armaments
whenever that might be p o s s i b l e should not be o v e r l o o k e d .
The Cabinet took note o f the S e c r e t a r y ' s Report a t tached t o C.F.-1S? I7-5) , and' more p a r t i c u l a r l y o f the l a s t paragraph s t a t i n g tha t the" Sub-Committee hoped t o submit a Report b e f o r e the end o f the month.
The procedure i n i t i a t e d by the Sub-Committee on Defence P o l i c y and Requirements, which was now be ing c a r r i e d out by the ( O f f i c i a l ) Defence
) Requirements Committee,was approved.
- 1 . 5
-Draft Convenit ion regB.r6.lng Benefit or Kllowanees to fthe involun-Rariiy nnemployed . Batifteat ton
I Previous? Reference:
I Cabinet S3 ( 554), Oonclusion 7 . )
8 * The Cabinet had b e f o r e them a Note by the
M i n i s t e r o f Labour (G .P . -185 ( 3 5 ) ) recommending the
r a t i f i c a t i o n o f the Dra f t Convention r ega rd ing Bene f i t
or Al lowances t o the I n v o l u n t a r i l y Unemployed, which
had been adopted a t the Eighteenth Sess ion of the
I n t e r n a t i o n a l Labour Conference he ld i n June, 1934.
Accompanying the Dra f t Convention was a Recommendation,
wh ich , un l i k e the Convent ion, need, not be accepted or
r e j e c t e d wi thout q u a l i f i c a t i o n . The M in i s t e r of Labour
t h e r e f o r e proposed, in agreement w i th the t r easury ,
t h e Dominions O f f i c e and the Nome O f f i c e ( f o r Northern
I r e l a n d ) , acceptance of the Recommendation sub jec t t o
c e r t a i n r e s e r v a t i o n s suggested in h is Memorandum,
r e l a t i n g t o po ints not in accordance w i th present
p o l i c y .
The Cabinet approved the recommenda- t i ons of the Minister of Labour s e t f o r t h i n C P . - 1 8 5 (35 ) .
vrrvm MEETING 9 . NIP Cabinet agreed — Qp" CABINET .
To ho ld a Spec i a l Meet ing on THE GOAL Tuesday nex t , October 15th, a t MINING 4 p..m., f o r the purpose o f con-INDUSTRY. s i d e r i n g t h e In t e r im Report by
the Committee on the Organ isa t ion o f the Coal Mining Industry ( C P . - 1 6 0
(Previous ( 3 5 ) ) . Reference, cabinet 44 (35), Conelusion 4.)
i, Wh i t eha l l Gardens, S.W.1
October 9 , 1935.
