859.01/90
The British Embassy to the Department of State
Aide-Mémoire
His Majesty’s Government have considered the draft statement prepared by the Danish Minister, M. Kauffmann, and which he proposed should be published over the signatures of the President and the Prime Minister. The attached new draft22 prepared by the Foreign Office is submitted for the consideration of the United States Government, together with the following observations.
The third paragraph of the Danish Minister’s draft does not state the position accurately. There was, it will be remembered, some discussion, when the Danish Minister expressed his wish to sign the United Nations Declaration, as to his qualifications, the up-shot of which was that M. Kauffmann made a unilateral declaration and not a formal adherence.
With regard to the use of the word “trustees” in the second sentence of the penultimate paragraph of M. Kauffmann’s draft, the Ministry of War Transport and Trading with the Enemy Department were consulted. They pointed out that Danish ships have all been taken in prize and the Ministry of War Transport could not meet the legal consequences of handing over ships out of prize to a Danish body not exercising sovereign powers. In the same connection they considered it dangerous to use the phrase in the penultimate sentence of the last paragraph in which the Danes are recognised as Allies.
His Majesty’s Government would in particular wish to have the view of the United States Government on the implications of both the question of recognising the Danes as Allies and of their acceptance among the United Nations. It should also be considered whether the formula [Page 18] used at the end of the draft would necessitate consultation with other adherents to the United Nations Declaration.
In any event, His Majesty’s Government think that the Danish Minister in London and the Danish Council situated there, should be consulted and that such action should be taken by Mr. Kauffmann.
- Not printed.↩