Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 7, 1909
File No. 14457/71–73.
Minister Beaupre to the Secretary of State.
The Hague, April 20, 1909.
Sir: Supplementing my telegram of to-day,1 I have the honor herewith to transmit a copy of the protocol signed yesterday by the [Page 633] minister for foreign affairs of the Netherlands and Dr. de Paúl, special delegate for that purpose of the Government of Venezuela. A translation accompanies the same. I inclose further the statement of the minister for foreign affairs that accompanied the protocol to the States General, cut from Het Vaderland, of the 21st instant, with a translation thereof.
I am, etc.,
Protocol.
The Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands and the government of the United States of Venezuela, actuated by the genuine desire to prevent in the future new difficulties like those that arose between the two countries in the course of the past year and to lay an enduring foundation for an entente cordial;
in consideration of the fact that the two Governments declare themselves satisfied with the explanations reciprocally furnished in regard to the incidents that have troubled their good relations;
considering that the interests of the two countries demand the prompt conclusion of a treaty of friendship, commerce and navigation, as well as of a consular convention, offering the necessary guarantees for a real commerce between the colonies of the Netherlands in the Antilles and the Venezuelan continent;
considering that the previous re-establishment of diplomatic relations is desirable to this effect; have agreed as follows:
The diplomatic relations between the kingdom of the Netherlands and the United States of Venezuela shall be re-established from the day of the signing of this protocol and the two Governments shall be able to establish their respective legations at Caracas and at The Hague;
the Government of the Netherlands will continue to observe the protocol of August 20, 1894:
The Venezuelan Government engages:
- 1°.
- not to modify in any manner, until the conclusion, of a treaty of commerce and a consular convention between the two States the laws and prescriptions actually in force in the Republic of Venezuela, to the detriment of the subjects of the Netherlands or of the commerce and navigation of the Netherlands and its colonies.
- 2°.
- to extend immediately and spontaneously to the colonies of the Netherlands in the Antilles every concession to be made in the future to ENGLAND in favor of the island of Trinidad or to any other Power in favor of any other island whatever in the Antilles, especially in the matter of the 30% additional duties at present levied by the Venezuelan Republic in virtue of the law of the month of June 1881, put in force on May 3, 1882.
The Venezuelan Government engages to pay within the three months which follow the signing of the present protocol to the Netherlands Government, as indemnity assessed by common accord for the damages caused by the seizing of the Netherlands vessels “Estela,” “Penelope,” “Justicia,” “Carmita” and “Marion” the sum of twenty thousand bolivars (bs. 20,000).
As proof of the high appreciation by the Netherlands Government of the sentiments of friendship shown by General Gomez, Vice-President of the United States of Venezuela, since he was charged with the Presidency of the Republic, the Netherlands Government declares that the guardships seized by its warships will immediately be placed at Willemstad at the disposition of a delegate to be appointed for that purpose by the Government of Venezuela.
In witness whereof the undersigned Jonkheer R. De Marees Van Swinderen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Her Majesty the Queen of the Netherlands, and Doctor J. De J. Paul, special delegate of the Government of the United States of Venezuela, duly authorized by Her Majesty the Queen and by the Vice-President constitutionally charged with the Presidency of the Republic, have affixed [Page 634] their signatures to the present protocol which shall be submitted to the ratification of the competent powers and of which an exact translation in Dutch and in Spanish shall be made and signed by the two Plenipotentiaries.
(L. S.)
Statement of the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs.
For the information of the members, the minister for foreign affairs has sent to the Second Chamber of the States General a copy of the protocol signed by himself and Mr. J. de J. Paul, plenipotentiary of Venezuela, on Monday last.
In explanation thereof the minister says:
From the commencement of negotiations with Mr. Paul, in the month of January last, Her Majesty’s Government assumed that the restoration of diplomatic relations should only be arranged after the required guarantee had been obtained that Dutch trade should be guarded against special injury in the future and, if possible, the sur-tax of 30% levied by Venezuela on goods coming in the last instance from the Dutch Antilles should be removed and, moreover, some indemnity given for the detention of Dutch vessels.
I therefore submitted a draft of a convention, in a line with these views, to Mr. Paul, who, on receipt of the same and after a preliminary discussion of the contents, temporarily left, while awaiting instructions from his Government, to acquit himself of his mission to other Governments.
On returning hither at the end of last month, Mr. Paul notified me that, to his regret, it was not possible for him to sign the said project in the form presented. He pointed out that the present Venezuelan administration, by abrogating the decree of the 14th of May, has indicated from the very commencement the sincerity of its endeavors for friendly relations with the Netherlands and, of its own accord, has subsequently confirmed this by still further arrangements tending to the benefit of Netherlands trade; that every State has the right to regulate its own fiscal and commercial laws in the manner that it deems most beneficial to its own interests and that England too, that had perhaps still more interest than the Netherlands in the removal of the surtax, has never made that removal a condition to the maintenance of diplomatic relations.
Consequently, Mr. Paul asserted, that under existing circumstances it was simply impossible for General Gomez’s Government to proceed to such an extensive revision of the fiscal laws of the country as the removal of the 30 per cent, before it has assured itself of the approval of the Cortes thereto.
This last assertion especially, the justice of which Her Majesty’s Government could not entirely deny, and, moreover, the consideration that it was to its own interests to a great extent not to withhold from Gomez’s Government, which had given such convincing proofs of its sincerity, that support which was now being shown by all the Powers interested in the conflict, have moved Her Majesty’s Government to so far revise its original standpoint, that they should no longer demand, by the removal of the legally levied 30 per cent, an absolute greatest favor, but a similar favor for Curacao as that of the other Antilles and especially that of Trinidad would be sufficient. This revision would on the one hand remove the constitutional objection of Venezuela to the withdrawal of the additional levy on Her Majesty’s Government, and on the other hand the Netherlands might be insured of the same desired results through another channel, notwithstanding. This last expectation depends upon the fact that England, in virtue of the existing commercial treaty between that Kingdom and Venezuela, declares that the said levy is illegal in so far as Trinidad is concerned, has during the last few months most strongly insisted upon this view at Caracas, and, as reliable information seems to indicate, not without some chance of success ere long.
Mr. Paul approved of this revised standpoint, and thus by the inclosed protocol the Venezuelan Government has undertaken: 1. to maintain the status quo until a commercial treaty has been agreed upon, and 2°. that if Trinidad or any other of the islands of the Antilles should be accorded a diminution or removal of the 30 per cent surtax, this favor should be at once accorded to Curacao; 3°. to pay an indemnity of 20,000 francs, from which [Page 635] the owners of the five ships named in the protocol should be compensated for the illegal detention by Venezuelan coast guarders in the years 1907 and 1908.
It is the intention of the Government within a short time to send a plenipotentiary ad hoc to Caracas to treat with the Government there in respect to the conclusion of a commercial treaty.
Finally the minister expresses the hope that the States general will greet the realization of this protocol with the same satisfaction that Her Majesty’s Government does, whereby in and in every way satisfactory manner an end has been put to the difficulties that have arisen with Venezuela and every guarantee that could be expected under the given circumstances against a repetition thereof secured.
- Not printed.↩