A. —5d

The further specific points on which some additional elucidation would be of assistance are, then, the following : — (1.) The present draft, though in the form of a note from the French Government to the German Government, is so couched as to commit the Allied Governments concerned as a whole to the proposals which it contains. Is it the intention of the French Government that the note shall be an expression of the views of the French Government alone ? Or, as the present text infers, a communication to the German Government from the French Government, acting in concert with and in the name of the interested Allies ? The answer to the above question must largely determine the angle from which His Majesty's Government approacli and eventually comment on the document. (2.) The third paragraph of the preamble refers to the desire of the Allies to give to the interested States supplementary guarantees of security " within the framework of the Treaty of Versailles." It is doubtful what exactly this phrase means ; is it not, for example, perhaps a little misleading when applied to a proposal which, as His Majesty's Government understand it, is to be put forward as supplementary to and outside the existing framework of the Treaty of Versailles ? It is presumably the intention of the French Government that the proposed pact shall not in any way weaken or infringe the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles. But the phrase is not free from ambiguity, and Mr. Chamberlain would be grateful for such explanations as can be given him. (3.) The meaning of paragraphs 2 and 3of Section II is distinctly obscure. For example, it is expressly stipulated in Section 111 that the pact shall not affect the clauses of the treat} 7 concerning the Rhineland occupation or the execution of the provisions of the Rhineland Agreement; it is not understood what other provisions of the Treaty of Versailles the French Government can have in mind under Section 11. It would be of assistance to learn what precise object the wording of Section II has in view, and what danger it is designed to avoid. (4.) Mr. Chamberlain notes that the French Government welcome the suggestion of treaties of arbitration guaranteeing the peaceful settlement of juridical and political disputes. But what exactly do the French Government understand by the term " arbitration " in this respect ? Is it contemplated that there shall be a settlement of a judicial nature in every case to the exclusion, for instance, of the procedure of settlement by the Council laid down by the Covenant of the League of Nations ? Or do the French Government include " conciliation " in the general term " arbitration " used in their draft ? (5.) The French draft contains the phrase that the arbitration treaties " should leave no room for coercive action save in case of failure to observe the provisions of the various treaties and agreements contemplated "in their note of the 12th May. But even in the latter case the French Government can hardly contemplate actual coercive action without a preliminary reference to some procedure for peaceful settlement, such, for example, as the Council of the League of Nations, in accordance with the general provisions of the Covenant 1 This is an important point, and one on which Mr. Chamberlain would be more particularly grateful for further information. (6.) What exactly is.meant by the phrase " the joint and several guarantee " which, under the French draft, is to be given to the contemplated arbitration treaties ? What actual obligation would devolve upon the guarantor ? This is a point on which His Majesty's Government are in great doubt as to what is intended. Does such a guarantee involve an obligation on the guarantors to resort to force, and, if so, in what circumstances ? (7.) Again, the exact import of the reference in paragraph 3 of Section V to the existing rights and obligations of the Allied Powers under the Covenant of the League of Nations and the treaties of peace is not clear, and a more precise indication of the objects of this passage would be welcomed. (8.) What exactly does the French Government mean in Section VI by the phrase " placed under the auspices "of the League of Nations ? Is any procedure thereby contemplated which would entail an obligation on the part of an individual member of the League who was not an actual signatory of the agreements reached ? Mr. Chamberlain feels sure that M. de Fleuriau will forgive his raising the various points set forth in the preceding paragraphs. His doing so does not necessarily mean that in the opinion of His Majesty's Government it is desirable to amplify or modify the actual wording of the French draft. That can only be decided at a later stage. His present object is merely to learn for the confidential information of his colleagues and himself the precise import of the French proposals in order to remove any danger of a misunderstanding of the French draft of the 12th May before attempting to formulate the views of His Majesty's Government upon it. Foreign Office, 19th May, 1925.

No. 5. French Reply to Mr. Chamberlain's informal Memorandum of May 19, 1925, regarding certain Points in the French Draft Note of May 12, 1925, on the subject of Security. —(Communicated by the French Ambassador May 25.) Before embarking upon a detailed reply to the various requests for enlightenment made by the British Government it is well to make the following remark : — The French draft note is drawn up on the following plan : First of all come general observations and reservations comprised in the first two sections, then observations peculiar to the different

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