Following for Pierce from Burbridge, Begins:

1. As explained in our telephone conversation this afternoon Wyatt of the legal firm of Sullivan and Cromwell here, after careful examination of our problem, has advised Mundell and myself that the best and safest course for the Canadian Government to follow at the present time is to have the Canadian Ambassador in Washington personally sign a letter to the Judges of the United States District Court, Northern District of New York (the text of such a letter follows). This letter should be delivered to Burbridge in care of the Canadian Delegation to the United Nations at the Biltmore Hotel, New York, by a member of your staff not later than 3 p.m. Tuesday, November 11. Burbridge will arrange to have the letter given to Wyatt who will take it with him to UTICA and deliver it personally to the Judge there and also a copy to the Clerk of the Court before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 12. Original of letter should be accompanied by two copies.

2. For Mr. Wrong's information the Prime Minister personally instructed Mundell to consult Wyatt with Burbridge and act on Wyatt's advice to take any steps to avoid default judgment and to obtain dismissal of the action.

3. The following is the text of the letter which has been approved by the Department of Justice in Ottawa and which Mr. Wrong may wish to sign in triplicate if he approves. Text Begins:

To the Honourable the Judges of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York:

Information has been given me that on October 23, 1952, a United States Marshal called at the office of the Canadian Consulate General in New York, New York, and left on the desk of the Consul General, in the presence of the Consul General, a copy of the summons and of the complaint in an action entitled in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, Civil Action No. 4511, Arthur Oster and Dorothy Oster, plaintiffs, against "Dominion of Canada", defendant.

I have the honour to represent in the United States Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II in right of Canada as Ambassador and I am instructed by her Majesty's Government in Canada respectfully to address Your Honours with reference to the action above described. It is likely that the designation "Dominion of Canada" as defendant is intended to refer to Her Majesty in right of Canada, but the designation is not accurate or appropriate.

Her Majesty's Government in Canada have instructed me respectfully to suggest to Your Honours that, as a sovereign and under well established principles of international law, Her Majesty in right of Canada is not subject to suit in your Honourable Court without Her consent, which consent has not been given and is not given in the action above described. There is the following averment in the complaint in the action:

"The defendant has waived any immunity from suit and has consented to be sued as hereinafter set forth." I am instructed that Her Majesty has not waived immunity from suit in your Honourable Court and has not consented to be sued in your Honourable Court, either as set forth in the complaint or otherwise. It should also be pointed out that the Canadian Consul General in New York would not in any event be a person authorized to receive writs, notices or other forms of process on behalf of Her Majesty.

The purpose of this letter is solely to invite the attention of Your Honours to a lack of jurisdiction in your Honourable Court and does not in any way constitute an appearance or a submission or a consent to jurisdiction. Her Majesty in right of Canada asserts and relies upon an immunity from suit as a sovereign and, in consequence, suggests that your Honourable Court should proceed no further in the subject action.

Respectfully submitted,

Ambassador of Canada to the United States

Text ends.