Baron Gerolt to Mr. Fish
The undersigned, envoy and minister plenipotentiary of the North German Union, has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the note of the Hon. Hamilton Fish, Secretary of State of the United States, bearing date of the 14th instant, in which, in reply to the communication of the undersigned of the 13th instant, in relation to the revocation of the delaration made by the North German Union at the commencement of the war with France, for the protection of all private property at sea, the honorable Secretary expresses the deep regret of the Government of the United States that the North German government has thought itself justified, by circumstances of subsequent occurrence, in abandoning a position taken for the best interests of civilization, which [Page 405] had been hailed by the Government of the United States with so great satisfaction.
The undersigned thinks it his duty to remind the Hon. Hamilton Fish that that position of North Germany, and the recognition of the freedom of all private property at sea, with the exception of contraband articles, was formerly taken, and maintained by Prussia and Austria in their war with Denmark, as well as in the war between Prussia and Austria, and that only extraordinary and unforeseen circumstances in the present war between Germany and France could have induced the German government to abandon that position, since French vessels of war, under the direction of the present authorities of France, have, in violation of all international law, captured and burned German vessels upon the high seas, within the jurisdiction of neutral powders, of which the undersigned had the honor to inform the honorable Secretary of State on the 15th of December last, by reading the dispatch of Count Bismarck in relation thereto. In regard to the inquiry contained in the note of the Hon. Hamilton Fish of the 14th instant, whether the merchant vessels of the United States, after the inauguration of the new measure, would still be protected from capture, as before, and would be treated according to article XII of the treaty of 1828 between Prussia and the United States, the undersigned can only express his conviction that all rights which are guaranteed by treaty to the United States by the North German government will remain intact, as heretofore. Still, in order to avoid any misunderstanding on the subject, the undersigned thinks it his duty to express the opinion that in all cases contraband articles cannot be excluded from the provisions of the above-mentioned article XII, and that if in the telegram mentioned by the Honorable Secretary of State from Count Bismarck, dated July 19, 1870, viz, “Private property on the high seas will be exempted from seizure by His Majesty’s ships without regard to reciprocity,’’ articles contraband of war are not excepted there from, as was done in the last telegram of the 13th instant, that exception might be considered as a matter of course, especially since in article XIII of the treaty of 1799, which was superseded by the treaty of 1828, the contraband articles are enumerated, which are to be treated according to the provisions of the treaty.
The undersigned will, however, hasten to obtain from his Government a distinct declaration with regard to the words, and the sense of the aforesaid telegram of July 19, 1870, and he avails himself of this occasion, &c.