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Hotel de la Paix, Geneva , October 2nd , 1936.

His Excellency The Rt. Hon. Lord Tweedsmuir, G.C.M.G., C.H., Governor-General of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

My dear J.B.

By the time this communication reaches you , so much will already have been told in the press that there is, I fear, little in the way of news which it would be worth while trying to send in a letter. A word or two may serve to bring you up to date with my doings and present views.

The journey across the Atlantic was exceedingly pleasant, freedom of fog almost the entire way and not more than a day or two when it was at all rough at sea, the sky being for the most part clear , and the sea for the most part calm. Our little party were able to get some real enjoyment as well as rest out of the trip. We were able as well to have many conferences together on matters to be discussed at Geneva.

We reached Cherbourg on a Thursday, spent Friday in Paris and were at Geneva on Saturday morning. After attending the service at the Cathedral on Sunday morning, I lunched with Malcolm Macdonald at the Carlton Parc Hotel and we had a long talk together. It was immediately apparent that the views of our delegation with respect to what it was best to do at the League this year, were very, if not wholly, similar to those of the United Kingdom delegation. We both felt that this was not a time to attempt any revision of the Covenant but rather a moment when discussion concerning it should be kept within as narrowed limits as possible.

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On the question of sanctions, our views appeared to be much the same, though the political situation in Great Britain made it more difficult for the British delegates to express their views as unreservedly as we felt the statement of Canada's position demanded. We had a meeting of the heads of the delegations of the different parts of the British Commonwealth after Eden arrived and it was apparent from the discussion there that a frank expression of the Canadian position would not be unwelcomed to the British Government. Bruce of Australia and I appeared to be in complete accord, New Zealand and South Africa having taken a different position from the beginning were naturally bound to maintain it.

You will, no doubt, have already seen Mr. Eden's speech in its entirety. My own, I gather, has appeared in considerable part in the Canadian press. I am enclosing, with this communication, the full text of the speech in case you may not have seen it. My colleagues here were solidly behind every word of what I said and I was pleased on the morning following, to receive the following message from Lapointe:

"Hearty congratulations from myself and colleagues on your splendid speech which thoroughly represents views and sentiments of the people of Canada".

There is no doubt that what I have said, represents the general opinion of Canada It perhaps is a franker statement than some would have preferred. I have long felt, however, that in these interimperial or international matters involving commitments in time of war, no country can too frankly express in advance what its position at the moment of crisis is pretty certain to be.

While those who continue to stress the sanctions article of the Covenant as its most important one may not altogether have liked what I said at the Assembly, I believe the feeling of the Assembly generally is that if the position stated was the true one, it was much better that it should be known and definitely affirmed. I believe people are coming to

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see that the real weakness of the League lies in accepting professions at their face value and not sufficiently seeking to discover actualities and realities.

I have had exceedingly pleasant relations with all of the members of the British delegation and intimate and very valuable talks with Eden, Lord Halifax and Malcolm Macdonald . On the whole, while I view the situation in Europe as serious, mostly because of the uncertainty of Germany's position and of what may develop out of the tragic situation in Spain, I feel a little less anxious than I did during the first days of the Assembly . Eden still hopes to be able to bring about another Locarno Conference. Italy apparently will not allow what has taken place at the League with respect to the seating of the Ethiopians, to influence her attitude, and Hitler apparently has come quite a long way in indicating his willingness to cooperate. Were it not for the agreement between the French and the Russians, I should feel that it would be possible very soon to bring about a condition where at least the nations of Western Europe might regard their position as fairly secure, except in so far as it is likely to be affected by internal strife .

The real conflict in Europe as I see it seems to be one of control of policy in government and industry by the vested interests on the one hand, and the "unpossessed or dispossessed" on the other . That is a conflict which will outrun our day . Just what expression must be given to it at any moment will, I believe, depend more than all else upon the willingness of those in authority to recognize the real situation and permit monopoly of control to make way for joint control to as large an extent as may be possible.

So many factors enter into one's impressions that I shall have to delay until my return, an account of either .

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I am more rather than less hopeful of matters working themselves out satisfactorily to describe my feelings at least for the moment.

I duly received, a few days ago, your private and confidential letter written on September the 8th. I had left before it reached Ottawa. What you say with respect to the matter touched upon in my letter of September the 4th is exactly as I had assumed the facts and circumstances to be. I hope you have not been caused undue concern about the matter. You will have seen, however, from what has been said in the press and public discussion since, that I was not far off in my view as to the construction which would be placed upon your words and the controversy to which it was pretty certain to give rise.

I hope that before my return, what I have said here at Geneva may serve as a more immediate theme of discussion, and that when Parliament meets, any controversy there may be on the question of defence, will relate to my utterances rather than any word of yours.

I expect to leave Geneva at the end of next week, spend a few days in Paris and be in London for a fortnight. My present plan is to return by the "Empress of Britain" which sails from Southampton on October the 31st. In the meanwhile, I shall probably see Lady Tweedsmuir in London and if I can manage it at all, will run up to Scotland just to bring back with me the latest word of Mrs. Buchan.

I hope you have returned from the West much restored in health and strength. I am sure the trip will have done you good, and that throughout the Winter, you will feel greatly benefited by it. Personally, I am feeling very well and have much benefited by the ocean voyage and the change I have seen in activities here.

With every good wish. Yours as ever Rex.

P.S. I am just going to lunch with M. Delbos to meet Premier Blum. Please excuse mistakes in this letter which I have not had a chance to read over. "The bag" closes at 2.

W.K.