Historical Documents - Office of the Historian

702.0641/78

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

No. 71

London, June 28, 1933.
[Received July 7.]

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the Department’s instruction No. 7, dated May 29, 1933 (File No. 702.0641/76), enclosing a copy of a letter dated May 24, 1933, from the Secretary of the Treasury, with regard to a proposed exchange of notes between the Embassy and the Foreign Office to provide for the furnishing of information by American and British consular officers to the revenue officers of Great Britain and the United States, respectively, as to the compensation received by native employees.

I was orally informed by the Foreign Office on June 14 that it would be entirely agreeable to the suggestion of the Secretary of the Treasury that the agreement be concluded on a reciprocal basis, and I have to-day received its Note No. T 6904/224/373, dated June 27, 1933, a copy of which I have the honor to enclose. With the exception of the fact that the note is addressed to the Ambassador, the first two paragraphs of the note are identical with the draft handed to the Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy on March 15 and transmitted to the Department as enclosure No. 1 of the Embassy’s despatch No. 748 of March 21, 1933. A final paragraph has been added to express the willingness of the British Government to instruct its consular officers in the United States to furnish information regarding the compensation of American employees in British consulates to the American revenue authorities.

I have the honor also to enclose a copy of my note, dated June 28, 1933, informing the Foreign Office that the necessary instructions in the premises will be issued to American consular officers in the United Kingdom, and taking note of the fact that the British Government would reciprocally instruct its consular officers in the United States in the same sense.

In furnishing the American Consul General in London with a copy of this despatch, I shall request him to instruct the officers under his jurisdiction to comply with the request of the British revenue authorities to furnish them with the amounts paid to British subjects employed in their consulates.

Respectfully yours,

For the Ambassador:

Ray Athigrton

Counselor of Embassy

[Page 26]

[Enclosure 1]

The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Simon) to the American Ambassador (Bingham)

No. T 6904/224/373

[London,] 27 June, 1933.

Your Excellency: In Mr. Atherton’s note No. 1563 of the 11th December 1931 he drew my attention to the fact that at various times recently His Majesty’s Inspectors of Taxes had written to those United States Consuls stationed within their respective districts asking as to emoluments of British subjects employed in United States Consulates. Mr. Atherton also stated that he had instructed the United States Consuls to inform His Majesty’s Inspectors of Taxes that it would seem more appropriate that these requests for information as to emoluments paid in various United States Consulates in Great Britain should in the first instance be made through this Department.

2.: I have the honour to suggest that this course of action would necessarily involve considerable additional correspondence between the United States Embassy and this Department leading to mutual inconvenience and to state that His Majesty’s Government would be grateful if the United States Government would agree to the United States Consuls in this country supplying direct to His Majesty’s Inspectors of Taxes information as to emoluments of British subjects employed in the United States Consulates.
3.: I beg leave to add that His Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom will, on their part, take the necessary steps to authorise His Majesty’s Consular Officers in the United States to furnish direct to collectors of internal revenue information regarding the emoluments of citizens of the United States employed in His Majesty’s Consulates.

I have [etc.]

(For the Secretary of State)

G. R. Warner

[Enclosure 2]

The American Ambassador (Bingham) to the British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Simon)

No. 69

London, June 28, 1933.

Sir: I have the honor to refer to Your Excellency’s note No. T 6904/224/373 of June 27, 1933, in which you suggest that American consular officers be instructed to forward direct to the appropriate authorities information with regard to the emoluments of British subjects employed in American consulates in Great Britain, which was duly referred to Washington, and to state that the American Government, having regard to the desirability of avoiding the additional correspondence which [Page 27] would be necessitated by the transmission through diplomatic channels of this information, has undertaken to instruct American consular officers to conform with your suggestion. Appropriate instructions will be forwarded at the earliest possible moment.

In this relation, I note that His Majesty’s Government will reciprocally instruct its consular officers in the United States to furnish direct to collectors of internal revenue information regarding the emoluments of citizens of the United States employed in British consulates.