fidential intimation of the response to be made to the German
note and that they would themselves have certain representations to
make to the Entente Powers, to which they urgently begged the
closest consideration. The telegram went on to explain that the
Government of the United States had had it in mind for some time
past to make such representations on behalf of neutral nations and
humanity, and that it must not be thought that they were prompted
by the Governments of the Central Powers. They wished us to
understand that the note of the Central Powers created a good
opportunity for making the American representations, but was not
the cause of such representations being made.

I replied that I could of course say nothing to him on such an
important matter without consulting my colleagues.

I am, etc.,

ROBERT CECIL.

_Lord R. Cecil to Sir C. Spring Rice_

Foreign Office,

19 December, 1916.

SIR:

The American Ambassador came to see me this afternoon.

I asked him whether he could tell me why his government were
anxious to have confidential information as to the nature of our
response to the German peace note. He replied that he did not know,
but he imagined it was to enable them to frame the representations
of which he had spoken to me.

I then told him that we had asked the French to draft a reply, and
that it would then be considered by the Allies, and in all
probability an identic note would be presented in answer to the
German note. I thought it probable that we should express our view
that it was impossible to deal with the German offer, since it
contained no specific proposals.

He said that he quite understood this, and that we should in fact
reply that it was an offer "to buy a pig in a poke" which we were
not prepared to accept. He added that he thought his Government
would fully anticipate a reply in this sense, and he himself
obviously approved it.

Then, speaking quite seriously, he said that he had heard people in
London treating the German offer with derision, but that no doubt
the belligerent governments would treat it seriously.

I said that it was certainly a serious thing, and no doubt would be
treated seriously.

I asked him if he knew what would be contained in the proposed