File No. 5727/129.
The Chargé of Austria-Hungary to the Secretary of State.
Bar Harbor, September 7, 1907.
Your Excellency: I my note No. 1632 of the 15th ultimo I had the honor to state to Your Excellency that I reserved the right to present any wishes which the Imperial and Royal Government might have regarding the assimilation of the Hungarian chambers of commerce to those of the German Empire in respect to the recognition of certificates as to values of goods as soon as I received instructions from Vienna on the subject.
These instructions have just reached me and are prefaced by the remark that the Royal Hungarian Government would be gratified to have the declarations of value issued by the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry taken into consideration by the customhouses of the United States in determining values.
According to Article VI of the Hungarian law of 1868 the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry are corporations with an official character, and therefore answer the conditions explained to me by Your Excellency orally on June 20 last.
Paragraph 2 of the law mentioned contains the provision that the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry are under the jurisdiction of the minister of agriculture, industry, and commerce, receive and execute his orders directly, and present their suggestions to him.
Paragraph 3 letter F, relates to the right or duty of the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry to issue certificates regarding local commercial customs and samples of goods submitted. This right or duty has an unquestionable bearing on the case under consideration.
Paragraph 14 states that the president and both vice-presidents of the chambers of commerce and industry shall be confirmed by the aforementioned minister.
As there is no work extant in English on the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry, the royal Hungarian ministry of commerce has transmitted the inclosed Hungarian work by Dr. Ignácz Sugár, secretary of the chamber of commerce and industry at Miskolezi, on the last pages of which (pp. 124–129) the text of the article cited is copied. I also take the liberty of inclosing a German translation of the above-mentioned passages made in this embassy.
[Page 489]On the strength of these references and pursuant to instructions, I have the honor to request Your Excellency to kindly inform me whether the Government is willing to recognize the standing of the Hungarian chambers of commerce and industry on an equal footing with those of the German Empire with respect to the issue of certificates as to the value of goods.
Availing myself, finally, of this occasion in order to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of Your Excellency’s esteemed note No. 274 of the 3d instant, I beg of you to accept the renewed assurance of my most distinguished consideration.