only to Sir Nevile Henderson on the previous night.

It is a fact that when the British Ambassador asked Herr von Ribbentrop to let him have the text of what had just been read over to him, he met with a refusal.

The German Secretary of State put the paper in question back into his pocket. I should like to draw the Government's attention to this action, in view of the fact that the German Government has endeavoured to compromise the British Government by affirming that it had definitely exercised a mediatory function.

It should be understood that the object of such a conference would be, the settlement of all the questions involved in the construction of a lasting peace and would not apply merely to the current dispute.

I AM nowto give you the following details relative to the events of the last thirty-six hours, which reveal the responsibility of the Reich in the acts of aggression which have been committed against Poland.

[373]

The British Government having obtained the assent of the German Government to the opening of direct negotiations with Poland, the French and British Ambassadors in Warsaw called during the night of August 30-31 and in the morning of August 31 upon M. Beck, with a view to obtaining his consent to fall in with this procedure.

At noon on September 31 M. Beck gave notice of his acceptance and indicated that he had instructed his Ambassador in Berlin to request an audience at the Wilhelmstrasse in order to state that the Polish Government gave a reply in