He was anxious that no difficulty should arise through interference with local laws in the country where the mission was operating.

MR. BALFOUR agreed that the idea that M. de Martino had in mind. was right; but he thought it should be left to the Drafting Committee to give effect to the proposal.

BARON MAKINO expressed the view that in re-drafting the clause the object of the missions should be made quite clear.

(It was agreed to refer the text of the draft article submitted by the British Delegation to the Drafting Committee for the preparation of a revised text embodying the ideas set forth in the course of the above discussion.)

7. M. PICHON read the following new proposed draft article relating to the Opium Traffic which had been submitted by the Drafting Committee for insertion in the Treaty of Peace:

Draft Article
Regarding the
Opium Traffic

"Those of the High Contracting Parties who have not yet signed, or have signed but not yet ratified the Opium Convention signed at The Hague on January 23rd, 1912, agree to bring the said Convention into force, and for this purpose to enact the necessary legislation without delay and in any case within a period of twelve months from the coming into force of the present treaty.

Furthermore they agree that ratification of this treaty should in the case of the Powers which have not yet ratified the Opium Convention be deemed in all respects equivalent to the ratification of that Convention and to the signature of the special protocol which was opened at The Hague in accordance with the resolutions adopted by The Third Opium Conference in 1914 for bringing the said Convention into force; and for this purpose the Government of the French Republic is requested to communicate to the Government of the Netherlands a certified copy of the protocol of the deposit of ratifications of this treaty and to invite the Government of the Netherlands in accordance with the provisions of the article to accept and deposit the said certified copy as if it were a deposit of ratifications of the Opium Convention and a signature of the additional protocol of 1914."

(It was agreed to accept the above draft regarding the Opium Traffic for insertion in the Treaty of Peace.)

(The Meeting then adjourned to Monday afternoon, 21st April, 1919, at 3 p. m.)

PARIS, 19th April, 1919.

Paris Peace Conf. 180.03201/7

FM-7

Secretary's Notes of a Conversation Held in M. Pichon's Room at the Quai d'Orsay, Paris, on Monday, 21st April, 1919, at 3 p.m.

Enrolment of German Subjects

in Foreign Armies

Interpreter:-M. Cammerlynck.

1. M. PICHON said that the first item on the agenda paper concerned the enrolment of German subjects in foreign armies. The following article had been drafted by Mr. Lansing for insertion in the Treaty of Peace :"Germany hereby agrees from and after the signature of the present treaty not to accredit to any foreign country or

to send or to allow any military mission to leave its territory for any foreign country, and Germany further agrees to take appropriate measures to prevent German nationals from leaving its territory to become enrolled in the army of any foreign power or to be attached to such army for the purpose of assisting in the military training thereof, or otherwise for the purpose of giving military, naval, or aeronautic instruction in any foreign country.

The Allied and Associated Powers agree, on their part, from and after the signature of the present treaty not to enroll in their armies, or to attach to their armies or naval or air forces, any German national, for the purpose of assisting in the military training thereof, or otherwise to employ any such German national as military, naval or aeronautic instructor; and the Allied and Associated Powers further agree not to enroll or employ as aforesaid, any former German national."

M. PICHON, continuing, said that he understood that the draft article would apply only and solely to military instructors, and on that understanding he would be prepared to accept it. He would, however, be glad to have an assurance on that point.

MR. LANSING replied that M. Pichon had correctly interpreted the intention of the article. It was merely intended that Germans should not be employed as instructors in any armies. He himself, would however, be quite prepared, with M. Pichon's approval, to prohibit the enrolment of any German nationals in foreign armies; and, to give effect to this suggestion, he would propose that the concluding portion of the first paragraph of the draft article be altered to read somewhat as follows:

'. . . and Germany further agrees to take appropriate measures to prevent German nationals from leaving its territory to become enrolled in the army of any foreign Power or for the purpose of instruction in the military training of such army to be attached thereto, or otherwise for the purpose of giving military, naval, or aeronautic instruction in any foreign country."

Should this proposal be accepted, he would ask that the whole text should be referred back to the Drafting Committee to be redrafted in such a manner as to prohibit the employment of any German nationals in any army.

M. PICHON Said that, in his opinion, if the Article were redrafted as suggested by Mr. Lansing, it would prevent the enrolment of German nationals in the French Foreign Legion. He would point out that according to the existing regulations no enquiries were made as to the nationality of men wishing to join the Foreign Legion; but he agreed that the men so enrolled could not be defined as instructors.

MR. LANSING expressed the view that the procedure followed by France in regard to their recruitment for the Foreign Legion would, if retained, leave a very wide door for the enrolment of Germans in large

numbers by other countries. The American Army, for instance, contained large numbers of Germans; but the United States' Government were anxious to get rid of them.

M. PICHON said that, if Mr. Lansing's proposal were adopted, he could only accept the clause under reserve, for the following reasons. Firstly, recruitment for the French Foreign Legion, constituted a military question, which the President of the Council as War Minister would alone be competent to decide. Secondly, the employment of any German nationals in foreign armies constituted a political question, which he thought would have to be submitted to the Council of Four for final decision. Subject to those reservations, he was prepared to accept the draft clause.

MR. LANSING suggested that a new paragraph should be drafted, whereby the Germans would further agree not to admit into Germany persons of foreign nationality either for instruction at a military school or for the purpose of receiving military instruction of any kind.

M. DE MARTINO enquired what was the correct interpretation to be given to the last four words of the draft article, namely:- "any former German national", particularly in regard to the word "former". If those words were intended to mean that Germans who had acquired the nationality of a new country would be excluded from enrolment in the army of the country of their allegiance, he thought very important questions of national law would thereby be involved, and very serious difficulties would arise.

MR. LANSING agreed with M. de Martino, and suggested that the words quoted might be modified to read as follows:- "Any person of German origin naturalised after the signature of the Treaty of Peace."

LORD ROBERT CECIL asked why so much importance was attached by Mr. Lansing to the second paragraph of the draft article. He enquired why the Allied and Associated Powers should not be left a free hand in the matter.

M. PICHON agreed. Furthermore, he wished to point out that the clause would be in entire contradiction with the existing laws of France, which allowed the enrolment of volunteers after naturalisation. In his opinion, the second paragraph as it stood at present could not be accepted as long as the present laws existed in France.

MR. LANSING pointed out that unless some regulation to that effect were included in the draft article, certain nations not represented at that Meeting, whose armies had always been organised by German instructors, would continue to employ such instructors, merely naturalising them for the purpose.

M. PICHON agreed. On the other hand, he thought it would be im

possible to adopt a text which would be in direct contradiction with the existing laws of the country.

LORD HARDINGE enquired whether the difficulty would not be met by omitting the last two lines of the draft article, namely, the words: "and the Allied and Associated Powers further agree not to enrol or employ as aforesaid, any former German national."

(This was agreed to.)

(It was agreed to accept the following draft article, which would be referred to the Council of Four for final decision in view of the reservation made by M. Pichon.

"Germany hereby agrees from and after the signature of the present treaty not to accredit to any foreign country or to send or to allow any military mission to leave its territory for any foreign country, and Germany further agrees to take appropriate measures to prevent German nationals from leaving its territory to become enrolled in the army of any foreign power or to be attached to such army for the purpose of assisting in the military training thereof, or otherwise for the purpose of giving military, naval or aeronautic instruction in any foreign country.

The Allied and Associated Powers agree, on their part, from and after the signature of the present treaty not to enrol in their armies, or to attach to their armies or naval or air forces, any German national, for the purpose of assisting in the military training thereof, or otherwise to employ any such German national as military, naval or aeronautic instructor.")

2. M. PICHON said that the next question on the Agenda Paper related to the creation of a German Commission at or near Paris to

The Establishment

of a German

Commission at or

Near Paris to
Facilitate the

Conduct of Eco

nomic Negotiations

facilitate the conduct of economic negotiations. The following memorandum dated April 15th 1919, submitted by the Supreme Economic Council had been circulated to the delegates of the Five Great Powers:

"With a view to facilitating, giving unity to, and expediting the current negotiations in Germany of the Associated and Allied Powers, in connection with the provision of foodstuffs to Germany, the Supreme Economic Council strongly recommends that the German Government shall be requested to send immediately to a place to be designated in the very near neighbourhood of Paris technical experts on food, shipping, finance, raw materials, trade, and communications.

These delegates should be entrusted by their Government with full power to decide on all questions arising out of the provision of foodstuffs to Germany and on immediate economic relations with Germany. They should be provided with proper and sufficient means of communication with their Government and with all necessary facilities to enable business to be transacted conveniently and rapidly."

(It was agreed to accept the proposal to establish a German Commission at or near Paris to facilitate the conduct of economic negotiations, as above proposed.)