ESSENTIAL STEP

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 September 1940, Page 6

ESSENTIAL STEP

IN DEFENCE OF UNITED STATES NAVAL & AIR BASE agreement PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE TO CONGRESS. NO SENATE RATIFICATION NEEDED. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright (Received This Day, 11.30 a.m.) WASHINGTON. September 3. In his Message to Congress on the subject of the agreement with Britain regarding naval and air bases and the. transfer of destroyers. President Roosevelt said: “Under present circumstances, this exercise of , sovereign rights is essential for the maintenance of our peace and safety. This is the most important action for the reinforcement of our national safety which has been taken since the Louisiana purchase.”

The Attorney-General. Mr Jackson, informed the White House that the exchange was legal and that Senate ratification was unnecessary. Mr Jackson advised the President that “the proposed arrangement may be concluded as an executive .agreement, effective without ratification. There is Presidential power to transfer title and possession of the proposed considerations upon certification by appropriate staff officers.’ Mr Jackson noted that during the Russian-Japanese war, Germany permitted the sale of torpedo-boats. The State Department revealed that Mr Churchill has pledged that the British Empire will never surrender or scuttle the British Fleet in the event of the British Isles being defeated.

LIBERAL TERMS OUTLINED BY LORD LOTHIAN. MR HULL’S GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEDGMENT. (British Official Wireless.) (Received This Day, 11.35 a.m.) RUGBY, September 3. In his Note to the American Secretary of State (Mr Cordell Hull), the British Ambassador to Washington (Lord Lothian) states: — “Britain, in the leases to be agreed upon, will grant to the United States for the period of the leases all rights, power and authority within the bases leased, and within the limits of the territorial waters, and air spaces adjacent, or in the vicinity of such bases, necessary to provide access to and to the defence of such bases, and appropriate provisions for their control. Without prejudice to the abovementioned rights of the United States authorities and their jurisdiction within the leased areas, adjustment and reconciliation between the jurisdiction of the authorities of the territories in which those areas are situated shall be determined by common agreement. The exact location and bounds of the aforesaid bases, the necessary seaward coast and anti-aircraft defences, the location of sufficient military garrisons, stores and other necessary auxiliary facilities, shall be determined by common' agreement. “Britain is prepared to designate immediately experts to meet United States experts for these purposes. Should these experts be unable to agree in any particular situation, except in the case of Newfoundland and Bermuda, the matter shall be settled by the Secretary of State of the United States and the British Secretary for Foreign Affairs. Mr Cordell Hull, in reply, states: “The Government of the United States appreciates the declarations and generous action of the British Government, as contained in your communications, which are destined to enhance the national security of the United States and greatly to strengthen its ability to co-operate effectively with other nations of the Americas in defence of the Western Hemisphere. It

theerfore gladly accepts the proposals. The Government of the United States will immediately designate experts to meet the British experts, to determine upon the exact .location of the naval and air bases mentioned in your communication under acknowledgment.

“In consideration of the declarations above quoted, the Government of the United States will immediately transfer to the British Government fifty United States destroyers, generally referred to as the 1,200-ton type.”