The Secretary of State to Minister Hill.

No. 51.]

Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your dispatch No. 113, of the 27th ultimo, with which you return the certificate of appointment of Mr. Gorsira as vice-consul of the United States at Curacao, and wherein you state the view of the Netherlands Government that the recognition of a vice-consul in a Netherlands colony is regulated by Article VII of the treaty of 1855, as set forth in the note from the foreign office dated November 20, a copy of which you inclose.

By its instruction No. 46, of October 19, 1906, the department has expressed the view that the recognition of consular agents in Netherlands colonies is determined by Article III of the treaty of 1855, a view in which the Government at The Hague has acquiesced. The department is prepared to agree with the position now taken by the ministry of foreign affairs; Mr. Gorsira’s certificate of appointment and those of other vice-consuls who may be appointed for Netherlands colonies will be sent to the consulate concerned, in order that recognition may be obtained from the governor in the manner indicated by Article VII of the treaty of 1855.

I am sir, etc.,

E. Root.