India Office                       
 
                         Whitehall                          
 
                    19th December 1941.                     
 
                      Dear Mr. Taylor:                      
 
                                                            
 
 
I received your interesting letter of November 5th just  
over a week ago. But it has been a week desperately full of events, events   
which to some extent have affected the nature of any reply to the   
questions in your letter, in as much as they have now made out two   
    countries definitely partners in a common struggle.     
 
            ,  
                                                            
 
 
That applies particularly to your fourth query, namely  
whether in negotiations short of complete victory we intend to restore the   
invaded countries in all respects, having in mind their political, racial   
and economic reconstruction. That,  I imagine, will from now on be a   
question not merely of British but of our joint purpose, and therefore   
all that I can say in answer refers to our attitude hitherto - future   
policy being decided jointly by our Governments, and indeed by others   
                   immediately concerned.                   
 
                                                            
 
 
We have of course on many occasions publicly declared our intention of   
restoring the independence of the countries overrun by the enemy. But we   
have never I think entered into any precise commitments about territorial   
frontiers or economic reconstruction. This was put very definitely by Mr.   
Churchill in the House of Commons on September 5th, 1940, when he said:  
"We have not at any time adopted since this war broke out the line that   
nothing could be changed in the territorial structure of various countries.  
 On the other hand we do not propose to recognise any territorial changes   
which take place during the war unless they take place with the free   
     consent and good will of the parties concerned ."      
 
                                                            
 
 
On June 12th last there was an inter-Allied meeting which passed   
resolutions to the effect that the Allies would continue until victory is   
won, evidently meaning complete victory; that there could be no settled   
peace so long as free peoples are coerced by violence into submission to   
domination by Germany or