867n.01/236: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Harvey)

136. Reference Department’s 134, May 8, 8 p.m.

Please advise Foreign Office informally that Department desires to make following announcement on May 11th when it is presumed similar statement will be made by the British Government to the Council of the League of Nations as showing points upon which agreement has been reached between United States and Great Britain.

“As a result of correspondence between the Governments of the United States and Great Britain on the subject of the draft mandate for Palestine, agreement has been reached upon the following points:

1.
A treaty will be negotiated between the United States and Great Britain embodying the assent upon appropriate conditions of the United States to the terms of the draft mandate, such treaty to recite the mandate in full and to contain appropriate undertakings on the part of the British Government for the suitable protection of the rights and interests of the United States. The treaty will contain a general provision that the United States and its nationals shall have and enjoy the benefit of all the engagements of His Britannic Majesty, defined in the mandate, notwithstanding the fact that the United States is not a member of the League of Nations.
2.
Assurances regarding the establishment of adequate courts will be suitably embodied in the Constitution of Palestine, which will contain a provision by virtue of which nationals of the United States shall have the right to be tried by a court with a majority of British judges, except in trivial cases where this provision would lead to administrative inconvenience when United States nationals will have the special right to appeal to a court composed of a majority of British judges.
3.
In the event of the termination of the mandate régime, the capitulatory rights of the United States in Palestine will be revived immediately and completely and any arrangements that may then be made relating to the interest of foreigners in judicial matters shall not impair the rights and interests of the United States and shall be ineffective without the consent of the United States.
4.
The proposed treaty will contain an undertaking with regard to the equal treatment of the United States, its nationals and companies, guaranteeing to the United States and its nationals the same freedom from discrimination that the mandate gives to the States, members of the League of Nations, and their nationals.
5.
The British Government will give adequate assurances with respect to equality of commercial opportunity. Furthermore, the existing legal rights of American citizens or companies in Palestine are to be fully respected and safeguarded and the Treaty will contain a suitable provision to this effect.
6.
The mandatory shall be responsible for safeguarding the civil and religious rights of all the inhabitants of Palestine; for maintaining freedom of conscience and the free exercise of all forms of worship, subject only to the maintenance of public order and morals; for the protection of religious and eleemosynary bodies of all faiths; and for securing existing rights and free access to the holy places. The British Government will guarantee to United States missionaries the right to acquire and possess property, to erect buildings for religious purposes and to open schools, providing that they conform to the local law.
7.
The consent of the United States shall be obtained before any alteration is made in the text of the mandate.
8.
The British Government will furnish to the Government of the United States a duplicate of its annual report which is to be submitted to the League of Nations on the administration of the mandate territory.
9.
All the provisions of the Treaty safeguarding the rights and interests of the United States will apply to the territories lying between the Jordan and the Eastern boundary of Palestine as ultimately determined.”

Hughes