The Secretary of State to Minister Sorsby.
Washington , December 18, 1905 .
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch No. 206, of the 16th ultimo, by which you advise the Department that Bolivia has notified Peru of the termination of the commercial treaty of 1881, and Peru has denied Bolivia’s right to determine the period of the treaty.
Article IX of the, Peru-Bolivia treaty of commerce and customs, signed June 7, 1881, provides that the treaty shall remain in force until Bolivia and Peru shall have come to a final decision concerning the federal pact entered into between the governments of both countries. This provision is not modified by the later agreement of July 3, 1900. (British and Foreign State Papers, vol. 92, p. 793.)
The stipulated condition, does not appear to have been fulfilled and the treaty does not contain any provision for earlier denunciation by either party. It is to be hoped that the two governments may be able to come to some understanding in regard to its termination by mutual consent.
I am, etc.,