Minister Northcott
to the Secretary of State.
American Legation,
Bogota, October 29,
1909.
No. 20.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that in accord
with the instructions contained in the department’s cable of October 23,
1909, on Wednesday last, October 27, 1909, accompanied by Secretary
Hibben, I delivered to Dr. Carlos Calderon, Colombian minister for
foreign affairs, an answer in writing to his notes suggesting the
abandonment of the tripartite treaties and the opening of negotiations
for a new treaty with the United States. A copy of my note is inclosed
herewith.
At the interview which took place on the delivery of the note,
immediately after receiving and reading it, Dr. Calderon stated
verbally, that the present Colombian Government could not enter into
negotiations of any kind with Panama, as it (the Government of Colombia
as at present constituted) regarded the United States as being solely
responsible for the separation of Panama. To which statement we replied
that that view was not conceded by the United States in the slightest
degree.
At a dinner given by the President at the palace last night, which we
attended, Secretary Hibben had personal and unofficial conversations
with Dr. Borda, the newly appointed Colombian minister to the United
States, and with Dr. Calderon. These conversations Mr. Hibben will
report to you in person.
The feeling here is still very strong against the United States, and if
submitted to the present Congress the treaties would, in all
probability, be overwhelmingly rejected.
The present session of Congress here is expected to end within two weeks,
and it is not now generally believed that the Colombian Government will
submit the treaties to the present session.
I have, etc.,
[Inclosure.]
Minister Northcott to the Minister for
Foreign Affairs.
American Legation,
Bogota, October 26,
1909.
Mr. Minister: In comment upon the
memorandum with which your excellency presented me on the 22d of
September, in regard to a conversation which I had had the honor of
holding with your excellency as to the abandonment of the tripartite
treaties signed in Washington on January the 29th, last, by the
plenipotentiaries of the Republics of Colombia and Panama and the
United States of America, and in reply to your excellency’s
courteous note of the 2d instant, and of the subsequent personal
note which your excellency was good enough to send me on the 9th
instant, I have the honor ta reply to the proposition for the
negotiation of a new convention between Colombia and the United
States, as a consequence of the abandonment, proposed by your
excellency, of the present treaties, under instruction of my
Government, as follows:
The treaty of January 9 between Colombia and the United States was
negotiated in order to facilitate the negotiations between Colombia
and Panama, and to that end the United States conferred favors upon
Colombia in regard to the use of the canal and gave Colombia other
advantages as equivalents for the agreement between Colombia and
Panama, besides aiding Panama to carry out the engagements of the
Colombia-Panama treaty.
[Page 406]
Your excellency’s statement in the personal note to which I have
refer ted, that the abandonment of the Root-Cortes treaty will
virtually eliminate the treaty with Panama means, in effect, that
the considerations upon which the favors of that treaty were
predicated is to be treated as nonexistent, thus eliminating the
initial reason for a new treaty between the United States and
Colombia. It would be impossible for the United States to impose, by
independent convention with Colombia, any conditions constraining
the free hand of Colombia and Panama in settling their questions of
mutual agreement.
Whether the United States would be in any position to make any treaty
with Colombia would depend upon the ascertainment of the terms on
which Colombia and Panama may agree and the United States could only
consider such an agreement with Colombia as might facilitate the
Colombia-Panama agreement. In short, the whole tripartite agreement
would have to be done over again with the probability of no prospect
of reaching conclusions as favorable to all three parties as those
which your excellency’s Government proposes to set aside. Indeed, in
light of subsequent events it is more than doubtful if even
similarly favorable concessions by the United States to Colombia
could gain the approval of the United States Senate, as I have had
the honor to point out to your excellency in conversation on several
occasions.
For these reasons, the Government of the United States must decline
to acquiesce in wiping out the tripartite treaty and can not enter
upon a separate negotiotion with Colombia alone.
I avail, etc.,
