File No. 763.72112/964
In this decree the application of the declaration of March 1
concerning the treatment to be accorded to shipping bound to or from
German ports is set forth. I understand that a copy of the
declaration
[Page 150]
was submitted
to the Department of State by the French Ambassador in Washington on
March 1.1
[Enclosure 1—Translation]
Report to the President of the French
Republic
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Paris,
March 12, 1915.
Mr. President: The German Government
has decreed certain measures which, in violation of the usages
of war, are aimed at declaring the waters which encircle
northern France and the United Kingdom a military zone, in which
all Allied merchant vessels shall be destroyed without regard
for the lives of the crew and the non-combatant passengers and
in which neutral shipping will be exposed to the same
dangers.
In a memorandum accompanying the publication of the aforesaid
measures neutrals are warned not to embark sailors, passengers,
or cargoes on ships belonging to the Allies.
Such pretensions on the part of the enemy give to the Allied
Governments the right to respond by preventing every kind of
merchandise from reaching or leaving Germany. However, the
Allied Governments never intend to follow their enemy in the
cruel and barbarous methods of which he habitually makes use,
and the measures to which they have been obliged to have
recourse shall not in their intention carry any risk for neutral
vessels or for the lives of neutrals or non-combatants and shall
be applied in strict conformity with the laws of humanity.
It is under these conditions and in this spirit that the joint
declaration hereto annexed, notified to the Allied Governments
on March 1, 1915, has been conceived, and in which are drafted
the terms of the decree which we have the honor to submit for
your high approval.
We beg you to accept, Mr. President, the assurances of our
profound respect.
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The Minister of Finance:
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A. Ribot
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The Minister of Marine:
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Victor Augagneur
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The Minister for Foreign
Affairs:
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Delcassé
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The Minister of War:
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A. Millerand
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[Enclosure 2—Translation]
Decree of March 13, 1915
The President of the French Republic, upon the report of the
Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the
Minister of War, and the Minister of Marine, decrees:
Article 1. All goods belonging to
subjects of the German Empire, either shipped from or to Germany
and having taken the sea since the promulgation of this present
decree shall be stopped by the cruisers of the Republic.
All territory occupied by the German armed forces is assimilated
to German territory.
Article 2. All articles and goods
either of German brand or manufacture or made in Germany, the
products of German soil, as well as all articles and merchandise
whatsoever, the point of departure of which, either direct or in
transit, is in German territory, shall be considered as
merchandise coming from Germany.
However, the present stipulation shall not apply to articles or
merchandise which the subject of a neutral country may prove to
have brought lawfully into a neutral country prior to the
promulgation of the present decree or of which he may prove that
he was in regular and lawful possession prior to the said
promulgation.
Article 3. All articles and
merchandise whatsoever shipped either direct or in transit to
Germany or to a country close to Germany, whenever the documents
accompanying said articles or merchandise shall not show proof
that
[Page 151]
their ultimate
and true destination is in a neutral country, shall be
considered as merchandise destined for Germany.
Article 4. Neutral vessels on board of
which shall be found merchandise falling within Article 1, shall
be conducted to a French or Allied port. In the event of the
vessel being brought to a French port, the merchandise shall be
unloaded unless otherwise provided as hereinafter stipulated.
The vessel shall afterwards be liberated.
All merchandise recognized as belonging to German subjects shall
be placed under sequestration or sold, the proceeds thereof
being deposited at the Caissedes Dépôts et Consignations until
the conclusion of peace to the account of the persons entitled
thereto.
All merchandise belonging to neutrals and coming from Germany
shall be held at the disposal of their neutral owners to be
reshipped to their port of departure within a delay which shall
be determined. After expiration of the said delay the said
merchandise shall be subject to requisition or sold for the
account and at the expense and risk of the owners.
Merchandise belonging to neutrals and bound for Germany shall be
held at the disposal of the neutral owners, either to be
returned to the port of’ departure or to be sent to any other
French, Allied, or neutral port as may be authorized. In either
case a period of time shall be fixed, at the expiration of which
the merchandise shall be subject to requisition or sold for the
account and at the expense and risk of the owner.
Article 5. In exceptional cases, at
the suggestion of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, approved by
the Minister of War, the Minister of Marine may grant
authorization for the passage of a specified cargo, or a certain
special category of merchandise, destined to or coming from a
specified neutral country.
Goods coming from Germany shall only be authorized to pass when
they shall have been loaded in a neutral port after having paid
the customs duty of the neutral country.
Article 6. Nothing in this decree
shall be deemed to affect the provisions decreed regarding
merchandise declared absolute or conditional contraband of
war.
Article 7. The question as to whether
the captured merchandise belongs to German subjects, or is bound
to or from Germany, shall be decided before a prize court as
hereinafter provided.
Within two days from the arrival of the captured ship, the ship’s
papers and other documents justifying the capture shall be sent
by the prize service of the port through the Minister of Marine
to the commissioner representing the-Government at the prize
court, who will immediately notify the president of the said
court.
The president shall convene the court which shall declare
sentence upon the said documents within eight days of the
registration of the dossier at the court.
Notwithstanding the said delay, the court shall always be
entitled to order any investigation which may appear to it
advisable and to grant, if necessary, to the parties who may so
demand, sufficient time to justify their rights.
The decision of the prize court shall be transmitted to the
Minister of Marine, who shall be directed to execute same.
Article 8. The Minister for Foreign
Affairs, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of War, and the
Minister of Marine shall be directed, in so far as they are
respectively concerned, to execute the present degree.
Done at
Paris, March 13, 1915.
R. Poincaré
By the President of the Republic:
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The Minister for Foreign
Affairs:
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Delcassé
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The Minister of Finance:
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A. Ribot
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The Minister of War:
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A. Millerand
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The Minister of Marine:
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Victor Augagneur
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