Mr. Buck to Mr.
Hay.
Legation of the United States,
Tokyo, Japan, January 7,
1901.
No. 532.]
Sir: Referring to my dispatch No. 526, of date
the 14th ultimo, concerning the registration of immovables of United
States citizens on property held under leases in perpetuity in the
former foreign settlements in Japan for protection against third
parties, especially the limitation in time for the registration of such
immovables under ordinance No. 458, I have the honor to inclose herewith
a copy of a note to the Japanese minister for foreign affairs upon that
subject.
The note was written to remind the minister of our interviews in which I
had expressed doubt whether, if a case in point should be brought before
the courts, they would sustain in their rulings the construction put
upon the clause apparently limiting the time to the 31st of December
last, as given in his note to the British minister, and to put on record
a reservation in my acceptance of the construction he had given the
ordinance.
While I do not anticipate any case to arise in which, in consequence of
fraud, a claim to any building will be set up by a third party, yet
possibly one might arise, bringing in question whether owners of
buildings not registered before January 1 of this year might not have
lost priority of title against some claimant holding a subsequent title
through fraud of the original owner.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure.]
Mr. Buck to Mr.
Kato.
Legation of the United
States,
January 1,
1901.
Sir: Referring to my previous conversations
with yourself and my correspondence with your excellency’s
predecessor on the subject of the property rights held by citizens
of the United States in the former foreign settlements under titles
of perpetual lease, as guaranteed by treaty, and particularly in
respect to the provisions of that clause of Article I of imperial
ordinance No. 458, of December 28, 1899, which stated, “If a right
in an immovable other than that mentioned under paragraph 1, which
might be set up against third persons, has been duly acquired by an
alien or a foreign juridical person before the time fixed in
imperial ordinance No. 251, of the thirty-second year of Meiji, but
has not been registered before that time, it can not be set up
against third persons unless it is registered before the 31st of
December, 1900,” I have the honor to state that, by courtesy of my
colleague, the minister of Great Britain, I am informed that by a
note of your excellency to him—as I have before been informed by
your excellency personally—the interpretation put by the Imperial
Government upon the paragraph of the ordinance above cited is to
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the effect that the limit
of time for the registration of the rights in question is not
thereby absolutely determined by the first day of this year, but
that the said rights may be registered” at any time, the only
question involved being simply that if they are registered on or
after January 1 of this year the order of preferential rights in
respect thereto will follow the order of registration and not the
order of their establishment; and that such being the construction
put upon the ordinance by the Imperial Government they have
unavoidably been compelled to come to the conclusion that there is
no reason for extending the limit of time fixed by the above
ordinance for the registration of such rights, and that they are
therefore unable to consider the question of such extension.
While accepting provisionally the construction put upon the ordinance
in question, I nevertheless deem it proper to make reservation in
behalf of citizens of the United States respecting the rights
involved, should, perchance, at any time a different construction be
put upon the said ordinance by a Japanese court of law.
I avail, etc.,
