The Secretary, Department of Defence:

I have not before me the terms of the capitulation or agreement of September 17th to which Herr Haber refers. But assuming that the agreement contains no provisions as to the civil officers referred to by Herr Haber, the position would be this:

The civil offficials suspended from their employment by the military occupation have no claim upon the British Government, but only upon their own. If the British Government desires to remove them from the Territory, it ought to bear the expense of doing so, and it would be a humane and reasonable thing to provide for ‘their board, lodging and repatriation together with their family members’ as Herr Haber and the Administrator appear to agree. There is, however, no present power in Herr Haber to bind the German Government or the funds appropriated by the German Government for the administration of the Colony, to recoup the British Government for the amounts so expended, and while his assurances of repayment might strengthen the moral obligation of the German Government to allow these payments in the adjustment of accounts, they do not create a legal obligation even in such sense as that term can be employed in international law.

It is assumed that it is in respect to this aspect of the matter that the papers have been referred to the Attorney-General’s Department ⁽¹⁾

[Vol.13, p.124]

(1) In forwarding this opinion Mr Garran, Secretary, Attorney-General’s Department, stated that it was‘concurred in by this Department’.

(2) Author: See Preface.