711.4215 Air Pollution/430
The Chargé in Canada (Boal) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 24.]
Sir: I have the honor to refer to my telegram No. 13, April 30 [20], 12 noon, to the Department18 and to previous correspondence regarding the Trail Smelter case.
After talking with the Prime Minister and Mr. J. E. Read of External Affairs today the following suggestion has been made to me through the latter.
That a preliminary and entirely informal conversation be held between Mr. Read on behalf of the Department of External Affairs and such person as may be designated for the purpose on behalf of the Department of State to examine the possibilities of an agreement on the basis of the Joint Commission’s report. Mr. Tilley, lawyer for the Consolidated Smelter, will arrive in Canada May second and it is suggested tentatively that this meeting be held at Ottawa on or about May eighth. Dr. Tory, head of the Canadian National Research Council, would then be named in the capacity outlined in paragraph 4 of the suggested agreement in the Department’s instruction No. 841 of February 10, 1933. Dr. Tory and his opposite number appointed by the American Government would be authorized to employ experts to work at Trail and to report back to them the data on which they would reach their findings. Mr. Read assumes that our Government would be prepared to assume its part of the expense of this organization.
If the above plan of action is acceptable I would recommend that Mr. Metzger, who I understand has taken part in this work over a long period of time and is familiar with the situation at Trail, be sent here about May eighth to reach the terms of an agreement informally with Mr. Read. Mr. Read expresses the belief that the terms of an agreement can be reached in a few hours and once this is done the agreement can in due course be concluded in whatever form is most desirable. He at [Page 58] first suggested an exchange of notes for this but I remarked that it might be necessary for us to follow the treaty form and that this matter might well be discussed May eighth, to which he agreed.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩