In the early hours (4 am.) of September 3 I was accordingly instructed by your Lordship to arrange fcr a meeting with the Minister for Foreign Affairs at 9 am. There was some difüculy in estabolishing contact with the Ministry at that hour, but I wes finally informed that Dr. Schmidt was authorized by the Minister to accept on his Exceilency's behalf any communication which I might hand to him. I accordingly handed to Dr. Schmidt at 9 a.m. precisely the final ultimatum from His Majesty's Government, pointing out that over 24 hours had elapsed since I had requested an immediate answer to our warning communication of September 1, that since then the attacks on Poland had been inten-sifed, and that, unless satisfactory frances were received by His Majesty's Government before 11 a.m. British summer time of the suspension of all aggressive action against Poland and of the withdrawal of the German forces from that country, a state of war would exist between our two countries as from that hour.
Dr. Schmidt received this communication and undertook to deliver it immediately to his Chief. As no reply from the German Government was vouchsafed by 11 am., the German Representative in London was informed in due course at that hour that a síate of war existed between Britain and Germany. By 10 minutes past 11 am. every British consular Officer in Germany had been advised bythe staff of His Majesty's Embassy at Berlin this was the case.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.