Mr. Leishman to Mr. Hay.
Berne, Switzerland , March 23, 1899 .
Sir: I have the honor to advise that in obedience with instructions contained in your dispatch, No. 157, of March 8, which only reached me late on the 22d, I called to-day by appointment on the President of the Swiss Confederation, and after reading the contents of your dispatch to His Excellency I left with him a formal notice announcing the intention of the United States to arrest the operation of Articles VIII, IX, X, XI, and XII of the treaty of November 25, 1850, in strict accordance with form suggested in your dispatch.
His Excellency stated that the matter would at once be referred to the chief of the department of commerce, and expressed the hope that an early and satisfactory settlement would be reached, and after a mutual exchange of courtesies the interview ended.
I have, etc.,