File No. 594/11.
Minister Gummeré to the Secretary of State.
Tangier , May 10, 1907 .
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of instruction No. 95, of April 16, 1907a (file No. 594/7), inclosing a copy of a letter from the Gospel Missionary Union, making inquiry as to the possible purchase of real estate in Morocco by American missionaries, and requesting a report on the subject.
In accordance with the said instruction I have the honor to report as follows:
By article 11 of the Madrid Convention the right to acquire property throughout the Shereefian Empire is secured to foreigners, subject to the approval of the local authorities. Except, however, at Tangier, and to some extent the other coast towns, the necessary authorization has never been secured and the right of foreigners to acquire such property has been null and void. By article 60, of the Algeciras act, the said right of foreigners to acquire property in Morocco is reiterated with the statement that “His Majesty the Sultan shall issue to his administrative and judicial officers such instructions as may be necessary for them not to refuse the registration of deeds without lawful cause. Also, that in ports open to commerce and within a radius of 10 kilometers around such ports His Majesty the Sultan, generally, and without its being necessary henceforth for foreign subjects to obtain a special permission for each purchase of property, now grants the consent required by article 11 of the Madrid Convention. The general authorization stated above is likewise granted to foreigners at El Ksar Kebir, Arzila, Azemour, and eventually in other towns of the coast or the interior, but only for purchasers within a radius of 2 kilometers around these towns.”
This article 60 of the Algeciras act has not been put into effect as yet, and special permission for sale of property is still exacted. Although the article provides for the extension of the general authorization to other towns of the coast or the interior, eventually, there is little probability of that part of the article being put into effect, for a long time at least. If the missionaries request this information with a view to the purchase of property in Mequinez, I should say that there is no probability of their or any other foreigners securing the required authorization.
The legal deeds for transfer of real estate in Morocco are those drawn in Arabic, by properly authorized adools or notaries, and the validity of which have been duly certified by the kadi or judge.
I am, etc.,
- Not printed.↩