File No. 763.72112/357
The Argentine Minister (Naón) to the Secretary of State
Washington, November 9, 1914.
[Received November 10.]
[Translation]
Mr. Secretary: In confirmation of the conversations that I have had the honor to conduct with your Department relative to the means of dealing with the obstacles and injuries inflicted upon Argentine interests, in this case identical with those of the United States, by the British Government’s interpretation of conditional contraband and by the detention of neutral vessels carrying cargoes consigned to neutral countries, I have the pleasure of expressing to your excellency the gratification with which the Argentine Government would see the establishment of a close understanding between our two Governments upon the maintenance of a doctrine which would best protect their common interests and upon a method of procedure which would prevent the damage caused to the commercial interests of both countries by the British Government’s present interpretation.
With respect to the doctrine, my Government insists, as your excellency’s Government has done in regard to the United States, that the rights and duties of the Argentine Republic and of its citizens in the present European war are perfectly defined by the rules and principles of international law, and it understands, therefore, being disposed, as it is, strictly to conform to those duties, that it must also protest in each particular case when its rights are encroached upon or their exercise interfered with by authorities in the service of His Britannic Majesty. Consequently, whenever an Argentine [Page 434] vessel with cargo consisting of native products and bound for a neutral port is detained, the Argentine Government will notify the British Government of its protest, of its denial of any right warranting such detention, and of its determination to hold the Government of Great Britain responsible for any damages which that detention may cause Argentine interests to suffer, and which will be made the subject of discussion when circumstances permit.
With respect to the method of procedure, the Argentine Government is willing, as is the American Government, that such non-recognition of said right of detention, after having been formulated in general terms to cover all cases, be argued separately in each case in an amicable manner, taking into consideration the special circumstances attendant thereon, in order to reduce said damages as far as possible, without prejudice to the presentation in each case also of the respective protest, if circumstances render it advisable. The Argentine Government likewise believes that, in furtherance of the effectiveness of the understanding between our two Governments, the Ambassador of the United States and the Argentine Minister at London should be instructed to keep each other informed of the progress of their respective representations in each case and to adopt uniform interpretations and methods of procedure. The proposed understanding might be definitely rendered formal by an acknowledgment of this note accepting the statements herein made.
I understand, Mr. Secretary, that the foregoing constitutes an exact expression of our conversations on the position of the two Governments in the matter in question.
I avail [etc.]