Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 6, 1897

Mr. Draper to Mr. Sherman.

Embassy of the United States,
Rome, Italy, November 2, 1897. (Received December 10.)

No. 77.]

Sir: Referring to previous correspondence on the subject of the requirement of the Italian Government that an Italian consular visé must be affixed to certificates of origin accompanying our exports of meats to Italy, and particularly to my dispatch No. 42, of September 10, 1897, in which I reported that the minister of commerce had informed the foreign office that he would very shortly provide for a modification of article 3 of the decree of January 26, 1897 (article 3 being the one requiring the consular visé), in conformity with the request of the United States, and to your instruction No. 52, of October 6, 1897, in which you said you would be glad to receive any further information in regard to the matter, I have now the honor to report that, three months having elapsed without further formal communication on the subject from the foreign office, I took occasion yesterday to write to the minister for foreign affairs to ask when or about when the promised modification might be expected.

This morning I received a note from the minister for foreign affairs in which he says that, according to assurances received from the Royal ministry of commerce, article 3 of the decree of January 26, 1897, will without fail be modified in order to abolish the obligation of the consular visé upon the certificate in question, and that the modification will doubtless be made before the end of the current year. For your complete information I inclose copies of the correspondence, accompanied by a translation of the minister’s note.

In view of these assurances it seems to me that there can be no doubt that the result sought by our Government in the matter will be attained.

I am, etc.,

William F. Draper.

[Inclosure 1 in No. 77.]

Mr. Draper to the minister for foreign affairs.

Embassy of the United States,
Rome, November 26, 1897.

Your Excellency: Referring to your excellency’s note of September 7, and to our previous correspondence in regard to the removal of the special restriction on the importation of American meats into the Kingdom of Italy, I find that in your communication of September 7 you wrote as follows:

According to this opinion, his excellency the honorable minister of agriculture and commerce informs me that he will shortly arrange for the modification of article 3 of the ministerial decree of January 26, 1897, in accordance with the request of the Government of the United States.

Nearly three months have elapsed since the receipt of this note, and as my Government is much interested in the matter, I venture to write again, asking when, or about when, the promised modification may be expected.

I avail myself, etc.,

William F. Draper.

[Inclosure 2 in No. 77.—Translation.]

Visconti Venosta to Mr. Draper.

Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
Rome, November 26, 1897.

Mr. Ambassador: In answer to your excellency’s esteemed note of September 10 last, in regard to the importation into Italy of preserved meats coming from the United States, I can now confirm to you, according to assurances received from the Royal ministry of commerce, that article 3 of the decree of January 26, 1897, will, without fail, be modified, in order to abolish the obligation of the consular visé to the sanitary certificates to said meats. Such modification will doubtless be made before the end of the current year.

Accept, etc.,

Visconti Venosta.