Dear Mr. Prime Minister

As I intimated by telegram to-day¹ I am willing to meet you and Sir James Craig immediately. I need hardly repeat what I said in the interview to which you refer, that if our meeting is to be fruitful, there should be agreement in the first instance to have the Commission constituted without delay. So long as the Commission is not in being, I fear it cannot be expected that other discussions will bring us any nearer to a settlement. On the other hand, if after the Commission has been constituted, we come to an agreement, or nearly so, the work of the Commission will be reduced to a minimum and the agreement or the settlement of the outstanding variance, through the action of the Commission, will have binding force forthwith, and nothing will remain but for the respective Governments to implement the Commission's decision as the Treaty requires.

We have a very heavy legislative programme on hands, besides more than normal administrative business, and you will understand that absence from Dublin is very difficult for me at this time.