[Inclosure in No.
453.—Translation.]
Minister for Foreign
Affairs to Mr. Kasson.
The undersigned has had the honor to receive the esteemed note of the
18th instant, wherein the Hon. John A. Kasson thought proper, in the
name of his government to protest against the order issued on the 10th
instant, by the government of both halves[Page 54]of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, prohibiting the
importation of swine, pork, bacon, and sausages from the United States
of North America.
So far as this protest is based upon article V of the treaty of commerce
and navigation, of August 27, 1829, the undersigned begs leave to remark
that the prohibitory order in question was issued solely out of regard
to the public health.
The stipulations of article V of the aforesaid treaty cannot be
considered in this case, since the renunciation therein provided for of
the issuance of orders, prohibiting importation, which are not of a
general nature, cannot operate against the issuance of prohibitory orders based upon sanitary grounds.
All practice connected with treaties has confirmed this view, and this
practice was enforced towards the United States of North America when
Austria-Hungary was obliged to prohibit the importation of North
American potatoes in order to prevent the introduction of the Colorado
beetle. The American Government at that time made no objection.
The intention of the provisions of article V cannot possibly be to
prevent the contracting parties from adopting such measures as may be
required for the protection of public health in their respective
countries. Supposing, for instance, that a pestilence should break out
in one of the two countries, the country afflicted by the pestilence
would have no ground of complaint against the other for a violation of
the treaty if it should prohibit the importation, from the afflicted
country, of any articles considered directly dangerous to health.
The case is similar, in the present instance, in which the importation of
American productions has been prohibited, for the reason that the
consumption of those productions must be considered, on the authority of
experts, as decidedly dangerous to the public health.
The sanitary congress which met at Amsterdam in the year 1879,
unanimously declared that the introduction into Europe of American pork,
bacon, and sausages should, in its opinion, be prohibited.
In several places in this monarchy, especially at Trieste, since the year
1879, trichinæ have, on examination, repeatedly been discovered in
American hams and shoulders.
The precautionary measures then adopted to prevent the introduction of
trichnæ, consisting of a careful inspection and examination of all pork
imported from North America, did not satisfy the people of the
Austro-Hungarian monarchy.
The issuance of an order prohibiting the importation of swine and pork
from the United States of North America, was therefore urgently
demanded.
Similar orders are now in force in Italy, Germany, and France.
With regard to the failure to issue a proclamation notifying the
Government of the United States, beforehand, of the proposed enforcement
of the order in question, the undersigned begs leave to remark that
sanitary regulations always take effect in Austria-Hungary on the day of
their promulgation, and that, as a consequence, no previous notice in
regard to the adoption of the measure in question could be given to the
government of the country concerned.
The undersigned avails himself of this occasion to renew to the honorable
chargé d’affaires the assurance of his most distinguished
consideration.
For the minister of foreign affairs,
