Ambassador White to
the Secretary of State.
American Embassy,
Rome, June 13,
1906.
No. 204.]Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith the
copy of a letter which I have received from the consul-general inclosing
a communication from our consul at Palermo, stating that his consular
seal had been counterfeited under circumstances therein set forth, and
that although the two men by whom the counterfeiting is supposed to have
been done were arrested and brought to trial the court held that the
provisions of the Italian criminal code (Titolo VI, Chapter II, articles
264 to 274), translations of which I inclose, apply only to the
counterfeiting of seals, papers, etc., having validity in this country.
The public prosecutor, moreover, who concurred in this decision, would
seem, from the consul’s letter, to have held that the protection
afforded to notarial seals and acts by article 265 applies only to those
notarial seals and acts having validity in this country, whereas our
consuls are only notaries as to documents pertaining to the United
States.
As soon as the consul-general’s letter reached me I requested him to ask
the consul at Palermo to forward to me a full report of the proceedings
in the case, which, however, I have not yet received. Meanwhile, I have
thought it advisable to address a note to the minister of foreign
affairs, asking him whether it be a fact that the laws of Italy contain
no provision against the counterfeiting of the official seals of foreign
embassies and consulates. I inclose a copy of this note, which I handed
myself to Signor Tittoni, and I asked him at the same time whether such
a condition of things be possible. He replied that he could hardly
believe it, but that the question had never arisen before in so far as
he was aware, and, not being a lawyer, that he was unable to give a
positive answer; but he promised to cause prompt inquiry to be made and
to send a reply to my note as soon as possible.
In the absence of the text of the judgment of the court of Palermo it is
difficult for me to express a decided opinion in the matter, but it may
be well to mention, for your information, that Article VIII of the
consular convention, dated July 26, 1862, between Italy and France, and
Article XVI of the consular convention between this country and
Switzerland, dated July 22, 1868, the provisions of both of which are, I
imagine, applicable to us under the most-favored nation clause (Article
XXIV) of the commercial treaty with Italy, define the notarial capacity
of consuls, and would seem to give validity to acts legalized by such
consuls in a notarial capacity in the countries in which they
reside.
I shall be glad to know, in the event of its turning out to be true that
there is no penalty in this country for the counterfeiting of official
seals of embassies and consulates, whether you desire that I call the
attention of the Italian Government further to the matter, possibly with
the suggestion that legislation be enacted to meet the situation. I
should also be glad to know what protection there be, if any, in the
United States against such counterfeiting.
I have, etc.,
[Page 935]
[Inclosure 1.]
Consul-General De
Castro to Ambassador White.
American Consulate-General,
Rome, June 2,
1906.
Sir: I have the honor to transmit herewith
for your consideration copy of a letter received by this office from
the consul at Palermo in regard to the counterfeiting of the
consular seal of that consulate.
I am, etc.,
[Subinclosure.]
Consul Bishop
to Consul-General de
Castro.
American Consulate,
Palermo, May 19,
1906.
Sir: I beg to report, for the information
of our embassy, the decision and ruling made this day by the
criminal court of Palermo in a case involving the forgery of the
consular seal.
I had caused the arrest, on December 11 last, of two would-be
emigrants, Francesco Dolce and Francesco Sorano, who, after having
been rejected by the American doctor, presented themselves on board
the Austro-American steamship Giulia,
furnished with inspection cards to which the seal of this consulate
had been forged. They stated that they had been furnished with these
fraudulent inspection cards by Carisio Giacomelli and Vicenzo
Badalamenti. The two latter were then found and arrested. Criminal
complaint was made against all four.
The case came to trial to-day. It was adjudged that the
counterfeiting the seal of a foreign consulate is not an offense
under the laws of Italy, the provisions of the Criminal Code,
Chapter II, articles 264 to 274, referring only to seals, papers,
etc., made to be valid in this country. The two first-named
defendants were therefore set free. The other two were condemned to
one month’s imprisonment each and a fine of 100 lire; this, however,
not for the forgery in question, but for contravention to the
emigration law in acting as enlisters of emigrants without a
license.
The public prosecutor, although he thought well to claim protection
in his argument for the seal, on the ground that I am a notary only
as to instruments to be used in America, concurred with the entire
ruling, and declines to appeal from it, as he might do within three
days.
The result is that anybody is now free to counterfeit our consular
seal, or to use any papers stamped with such counterfeit as much as
he pleases. It hardly seems possible that Italian consuls in America
are left equally unprotected in this respect. I find nothing in the
treaty with Italy bearing upon the subject, but if there is no
provision of law, it seems as if one should be promptly devised to
prevent this dangerous abuse.
Meanwhile I have had two new seals made, by the use of which
alternating with the old one, all at irregular times, and by other
precautions, I shall hold in check as much as possible the evil of
this new opportunity of fraud in the business of overseeing the
emigrant departures, which, owing to its great magnitude, is already
of such a complicated and laborious nature.
I inclose copies of all three of our seals.
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure 2.—Translation of articles
264 to 274 of the Italian Penal Code.]
Chapter II.—Counterfeiting of seals, public
stamps, and their impressions.
- 264.
- Whoever counterfeits the Government’s seal, which is
designated to be affixed to government acts, or who makes use of
a seal counterfeited, even though it be counterfeited by other
persons, is punished by an imprisonment of from three to six
years and by a fine.
- 265.
- Whoever counterfeits the seal of an official of the
Government, or that of an official of a Province or of a
Commune, or of an institution which by law is under the
protection of the Government, the Province, or the commune, or
the seal of a notary, or whoever makes use of such seals
counterfeited, even though they be counterfeited by other
persons, is punished by an imprisonment of from one month to two
years and by a fine not exceeding 1,500 lire.
- 266.
- Whoever counterfeits stamps, dies, prints, or other
instruments used in the publication of laws or in an act of
certification of the Government, or whoever makes use of such
instruments counterfeited, even though they be counterfeited by
other persons, is punished by an imprisonment of from one to
five years and by a fine of from 50 to 3,000 lire.
- The same punishments apply to those who have not actually
taken part in the counterfeiting, but who offer for sale objects
upon which the said counterfeited instruments have been
used.
- 267.
- Whoever counterfeits single impressions of the instruments
mentioned in the foregoing articles, without the intention of
reproducing them and in a manner differing from the use of the
instruments counterfeited, is punished by an imprisonment of
from six months to three years, in the case of article 264; of
from one month to one year in the case of articles 265 and 266,
and always by a fine not exceeding 1,000 lire.
- 268.
- Whoever counterfeits stamped paper, paper stamps or the
impression of a government stamp, is punished by an imprisonment
of from two to five years and by a fine of from 1,000 to 3,000
lire.
- 269.
- Whoever counterfeits stamps used for stamped paper, for paper
stamps, or for stamped impressions, or filigreed paper used to
receive the impressions of such stamps, is punished by an
imprisonment of from six to thirty months and by a fine of from
50 to 1,000 lire.
- 270.
- Whoever makes use of counterfeited stamped paper, of stamped
impressions or of paper stamps, or whoever offers them for sale
or has them put in circulation in other ways, is punished by an
imprisonment not exceeding thirty months and by a fine of not
over 500 lire.
- 291.
- Whoever has not actually been involved in any of the offenses
as mentioned in the foregoing articles, but who possesses
counterfeit seals or stamps or the instruments used exclusively
for counterfeiting, is punished by an imprisonment of from one
month to two years and by a fine of from 50 to 500 lire.
- 272.
- Whoever having obtained real seals, stamps, dies or
impressions as mentioned in this chapter, and who makes use of
them to the disadvantage of others or to his own profit or to
the profit of others, is subjected to the punishments mentioned
in the foregoing articles lessened by from one-third to
one-half.
- 273.
- Whoever counterfeits or alters railway tickets or the tickets
of any other public transport service, or who makes use of such
tickets counterfeited or altered, even though they be
counterfeited by other persons, is punished by an imprisonment
not exceeding one year and by a fine of from 50 to 1,000
lire.
- 274.
- Whoever cancels or causes to lose value in any way whatever
the indications employed to show the proper use made of stamps,
paper stamps, stamp dies, railway tickets or the tickets of any
other public transport service, or whoever makes use of such
subjects so altered, is punished by an imprisonment not
exceeding three months and by a fine of not over 500
lire.
[Inclosure 3.]
Ambassador White to the Minister for
Foreign Affairs.
American Embassy,
Rome, June 9,
1906.
F. O. No. 172.]Excellency: I have the honor to inclose
herewith an extract from a letter which I received from the American
consul at Palermo, and from which you will see that two men, who had
been arrested at his instance and who were tried on the 19th ultimo
for forging the seal of the American consulate at that city, were
discharged by the tribunal on the ground that articles 264 to 274,
Chapter II, of the Criminal Code, have reference only to forgeries
of Italian seals, papers, etc.; a decision in which the public
prosecutor appears to have concurred, and to have declined thereupon
to appeal to a higher tribunal.
[Page 937]
I have requested the consul to obtain and transmit to me a full
report of the proceedings in this case, which I have not yet
received. Meanwhile I have the honor to ask your excellency to be so
good as to let me know, at your early convenience, whether it be a
fact that the laws of this country contain no penalties for
counterfeiting the official seals of foreign embassies and
consulates.
I avail, etc.,
