The Department of State to the Italian Embassy
The Department of State has the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the Royal Italian Embassy’s memorandum of the 24th instant relative to a list of contraband of war, which is being, prepared by the Royal Italian Government, to be applied during the war in which [Page 165] Italy is now engaged. The Italian Embassy, following the instructions of its Government, requests the consent of the United States Government to the issuance of a list of contraband more extensive than the one contained in Article 15 of the treaty of 1871 between the United States and Italy.
In view of the fact that the contraband lists published by the other countries engaged in the present European war comprise numerous articles not included in the treaty of 1871 and other treaties of the United States with the warring powers, the Government of the United States is inclined to raise no question as to the list of contraband proposed to be issued by the Italian Government on the ground that it does not conform to the list in Article 15 of the treaty of 1871 above mentioned.