No. 515.
Mr. White
to Mr. Bayard.
London , April 21, 1888. (Received April 30.)
Sir: Referring to my dispatches Nos. 719 and 722, I have the honor to inclose herewith three copies of the procès-verbaux of the eighth and of the ninth sittings of the international sugar conference.
You will observe that at the latter the United States occupied a considerable portion of the attention of the delegates, who were exceedingly desirous, after my statement (page 3), to ascertain what prospects there might be of our joining the convention hereafter.
Austria-Hungary, France, and Germany are exceedingly anxious as to our probable course should the convention be ratified, and the delegates of those countries appeared to consider as unfavorable to the hopes of the conference in the matter the report to the effect that the Committee of Ways and Means, before reporting the tariff bill to the House of Representatives, had withdrawn the clause suppressing drawbacks on sugar.
There have been two sittings of the conference during the past week, both of which I have attended; but the revised procès-verbaux have not yet reached me, and I shall only be able to forward them next week.
I have the honor furthermore to inclose the memoranda* furnished to the British Government by the powers represented at the previous session of the conference, and embodying their views with respect to its conclusions and to the draught convention.
You will observe that Brazil and Sweden are not now represented at the conference, but the inclosed memoranda from those Governments show that the former will adhere when the convention, as formally ratified, is received; and that the latter is in entire sympathy with the pro-posed abolition of bounties, but deems it unnecessary to send a delegate to the conference, as the quantity of sugar exported from Sweden is so small.
The Belgian proposals, referred to at length in my report of last January, have not yet been discussed, but strong objection is made to them in the memoranda of Holland, Austria, and Germany, and they will have to be modified, all the principal powers being opposed to them.
The Austro Hungarian memorandum distinctly states that the convention will be without effect unless the United States be a party thereto, and the same is implied in that of Germany. Such is also the opinion of the French Government, and I think it very doubtful whether these three powers will allow a convention for the abolition of sugar bounties to come into force until the United States shall have agreed to adhere to its provisions, unless the Spanish proposal to insert a penal clause, which certain Governments now appear to consider impracticable, should turn out to be feasible.
I have, etc.,
- Not translated and not printed herewith.↩