Nr. 12999. DEUTSCHES REICH. - Der Botschafter in London

an den englischen Minister des Ausw. Fordert,

daß Großbritannien die Verletzung des Handelsvertrags durch Kanada verhindert.

German Embassy, London, May 14, 1897. (May 17.) (Translation.) | My Lord, || It has come to the knowledge of the Imperial Government that the Canadian Government have decided that from the 25th of last month German goods were to be treated differentially as against British goods on entering Canadian territory, a deduction of duty of one-eighth being granted in the case of British goods, while this advantage is denied to importers of German goods. || I have the honour to inform your Excellency, in accordance with instructions received, that, in the opinion of the Imperial Government, there can be no doubt that this measure is a contravention of the clear terms of Article VII of the Treaty between the Zollverein and Great Britain of the 30th May, 1865, by which we are expressly granted in the British Colonies a footing of equality for our products with those of the mother country. Under these circumstances I have to request your Excellency, in the name of my Government, to be so good as to cause steps to be taken by Her Majesty's Government to put an end to the violation of the Treaty involved in the action of the Canadian Government. || Trusting that your Excellency will inform me of the decision taken by Her Majesty's Government in the matter, I have, &c. P. Hatzfeldt.

Nr. 13000. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Der Minister des Ausw. an den deutschen Botschafter. Er kann noch keine definitive Antwort geben.

Foreign Office, June 4, 1897.

Your Excellency,*) || In further reply to your Excellency's note of the 14th ultimo respecting the new Canadian Tariff arrangement, I have the honour to inform you that Her Majesty's Government are in communication with the Dominion Government on the subject, and pending the receipt of further information which has been called for, and is shortly expected, I am not in a position to give a definite answer to the complaint of the German Government. Salisbury.

*) Am 20. Mai hatte Salisbury dem Botschafter den Empfang von Nr. 12999 angezeigt. Red.

Nr. 13001. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Der Minister des Ausw. an

den Gesandten in Brüssel. Der Handelsvertrag

zwischen Großbritannien und Belgien soll ge

kündigt werden.

Foreign Office, July 28, 1897.

Sir, I have to request that you will at once give notice of the intention of Her Majesty's Government to terminate the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain and Belgium, signed on the 23rd July, 1862. || In virtue of the stipulations contained in Article XXV, the Treaty will accordingly terminate upon the expiration of a year, dating from the day upon which you give the notice.

Salisbury.

Nr. 13002. GROSSBRITANNIEN.

Derselbe

an Denselben. Näheres über Dasselbe. Die Gleichstellung fremder Waren mit englischen in den Kolonien ist schädlich.

Foreign Office, July 28, 1897.

Sir, | With reference to my preceding despatch, I have to request you to address a note to the Belgian Government informing them, in the sense of the present despatch, of the reasons which have decided Her Majesty's Government to give notice of termination of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of the 22nd July, 1862. || The general stipulations of the Treaty in question, being based on the principle of mostfavoured-nation treatment, are in accordance with the present views of Her Majesty's Government, but Article XV is in the following terms: ,,Article XV. Articles the produce or manufacture of Belgium shall not be subject in the British Colonies to other or higher duties than those which are or may be imposed upon similar articles of British origin." || A stipulation to such effect is entirely unusual in Commercial Treaties. No record exists in the archives of this Department of the circumstances under which this Article was adopted, or of the reasons which induced Her Majesty's Government at the time to enter into an engagement of such a nature, and it would appear probable that the insertion of these words must have been due to oversight or to a want of adequate consideration of the exact consequences which would flow from them. The Belgian Government are aware that for many years past the British selfgoverning Colonies have enjoyed complete Tariff autonomy, and that in all recent Commercial Treaties concluded by Great Britain it has been

customary to insert an Article empowering the self-governing Colonies to adhere, or not, at will. No such Article is contained in the AngloBelgian Treaty of 1862, and the consequence is that certain of the British Colonies, which are all comprised within its operation, find themselves committed by Treaty to a commercial policy which is not in accordance with the views of the responsible Colonial Ministers, nor adequate to the requirements of the people. || Beyond this, the provisions of Article XV of the Treaty of 1862, quoted above, constitute a barrier against the internal fiscal arrangements of the British Empire, which is inconsistent with the close ties of commercial intercourse which subsist, and should be consolidated, between the mother country and the Colonies. || Under these circumstances, His Majesty's Government find themselves compelled to terminate a Treaty which is no longer compatible with the general interests of the British Empire. They are, however, anxious at once to commence negotiations for the conclusion of a new Treaty, from which the stipulations of Article XV shall be excluded, and which, whilst containing a clause providing for the facultative adhesion of the British self-governing Colonies, shall in other respects be similar to the Treaty now denounced. || Her Majesty's Government feel confident that the Belgian Government will share their wish for the speedy conclusion of a new and mutually satisfactory Treaty, in the negotiations of which Her Majesty's Government will be happy to consider any suggestions for improved stipulations which may be suggested by the experience gained during the thirty-five years' continuance of the Treaty of 1862.

Salisbury.

Nr. 13003. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Der Minister des Ausw. an den Botschafter in Berlin. Der deutsch-englische Handelsvertrag soll gekündigt werden.

Foreign Office, July 28, 1897.

Sir, I have to request that your Excellency will at once give notice. of the intention of Her Majesty's Government to terminate the Treaty of Commerce between Great Britain and the Zollverein, signed on the 30th May, 1865. || In virtue of the stipulations contained in Article VIII, the Treaty will accordingly terminate upon the expiration of a year dating from the day upon which you give the notice.

Salisbury.

Nr. 13004. GROSSBRITANNIEN.

Dasselbe wie Nr. 13002.

Derselbe an Denselben.

Foreign Office, July 28, 1897.

Sir, || With reference to my preceding despatch, I have to request you to address a note to the German Government informing them, in the sense of the present despatsch, of the reasons which have decided Her Majesty's Government to give notice of termination of the Treaty of Commerce of the 30th May, 1865. || The general stipulations of the Treaty in question, being based on the principle of most-favoured-nation treatment, are in accordance with the present views of Her Majesty's Government, but Article VII is in the following terms:- || „Article VII. The stipulations of the preceding Articles shall also be applied to the Colonies and foreign possessions of Her Britannic Majesty. ||,,In those Colonies and possessions the produce of the States of the Zollverein shall not be subject to any higher or other import duties than the produce of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or of any other country, or of the like kind; nor shall the exportation from those Colonies or possessions to the Zollverein be subject to any other or higher duties than the exportation to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.“ (Hier folgt dieselbe Motivierung wie in Nr. 13002). Salisbury.

Nr. 13005. GROSSBRITANNIEN.

Der Botschafter in Berlin an den Minister des Ausw. Hat die Kündigung

übermittelt.

Berlin, July 30, 1897. (August 2.)

My Lord, || With reference to my preceding) despatch of this day's date, I have the honour to report that I called upon Baron von Rotenhan this morning to inform him that I had received your Lordship's instructions to notify at once the intention of Her Majesty's Government to terminate the Treaty of Commerce of 1865. I should, therefore, address a note to him in the course of the day to this effect, and at the same time I should have the honour of addressing a further note to him to inform him of the reasons which had induced Her Majesty's Government to take this step. In reply to Baron von Rotenhan's inquiry as to when the Treaty should terminate, I said that it would only continue in operation for a year from the date on which the notice was given, that is from to-day.

*) Enthält die Mitteilung, daß er der deutschen Regierung die vorgeschriebene Note übersandt hat. Red.

His Excellency then said that he presumed it would continue in force till the 31st July, 1898, and that till then German goods which were now paying, under protest, higher duties in Canada than were imposed on English goods, would be admitted into Canada on the same footing as the latter. || I replied that I presumed that this would be the case, and I added that your Lordship had instructed me to express the hope that negotations might be shortly commenced for the conclusion of a new Treaty. Frank C. Lascelles.

Nr. 13006. DEUTSCHES REICH. Das Ausw. Amt an den englischen Botschafter in Berlin. Bescheinigt den Empfang der Kündigung.

Berlin, July 30, 1897.

(Translation.) || The Undersigned has the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Sir Frank Cavendish Lascelles' note of to-day's date, by which the Treaty of Commerce between the German Zollverein and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland of the 30th May, 1865, is denounced. || As a consequence of this denunciation, the Treaty in question, and the supplementary Agreements relating to its extension to various German States which subsequently joined the German Zollverein, and to AlsaceLorraine, will cease to be in force after the 30th July, 1898. || The Undersigned avails, &c. Rotjenhan.

Nr. 13007. GROSSBRITANNIEN. — Der Gesandte in Brüssel an den belgischen Minister des Ausw. Kündigt den Handelsvertrag.

Brussels, July 29, 1897.

M. le Ministre. In compliance with instructions received from Her Britannic Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, I have the honour to give hereby to your Exellency notice of the intention of Her Britannic Majesty's Government to terminate the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain and Belgium, which was signed on the 23rd July, 1862. In virtue of the stipulations contained in Article XXV, the Treaty will accordingly terminate upon the expiration of one year from to-day. || Requesting your Excellency will kindly acknowledge receipt of this communication, I avail &c.

F. R. Plunkett.