File No. 711.3221
Ambassador Morgan
to the Secretary of State
[Extract]
No. 795
American Embassy,
Rio de Janeiro,
June 5, 1916.
Sir: Referring to the Department’s
unnumbered instruction of May 29, 1915,3
and to the Department’s telegraphic circular instruction of April 1,
1916,4 I have the honor to
enclose a copy, both in Portuguese and English, of a note which the
Brazilian Foreign Office addressed to this Embassy on May 30 last.
These communications referred to the modifications which the
Department suggested in the 31st article of the Treaty of Amity,
Commerce and Navigation which was concluded between the United
States and His Majesty, the Emperor of Brazil, on the 12th of
December, 1828, on account of the Act of the United States Congress,
approved March 4, 1915, entitled “An Act to protect the welfare of
American seamen” etc.
The Brazilian Foreign Office, in its note above referred to, reminds
the Embassy that the Treaty of December 12, 1828, “has been greatly
modified since that date”, and that “on December 12, 1841, all
provisions which had reference to commerce and navigation were
withdrawn” and only those articles remained in effect which related
to peace and friendship.
Article 31 was one of those which were withdrawn.
I have [etc.]
[Page 37]
[Inclosure—Translation]
The Minister for Foreign
Affairs to Ambassador Morgan
Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
Rio de Janeiro,
May 30, 1916.
Mr. Ambassador: I have the honor to
reply, with some delay which has arisen through various
unforeseen circumstances, of note No. 252 of the 26th of June
last,5 in
which your excellency, acting under instructions from your
Government, proposes to the Brazilian Government the abrogation
of Article 31 of the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, Navigation
and Commerce, into which the two countries entered on December
12th, 1828.
This abrogation, as your excellency says, has become necessary in
view of Articles 16 and 17 of the law which the American
Congress passed on March 4, 1915, which provided that, at the
expiration of certain fixed periods after they have been
denounced, all clauses of the treaties which the United States
and other Powers have ratified, relative to the imprisonment and
reciprocal delivery of officers and sailors who shall have
deserted from merchant ships, shall become null and void.
Your excellency is certainly aware that the Treaty of December
12, 1828, between Brazil and the United States of America has
been greatly modified since that date for, on December 12, 1841,
all provisions which had reference to commerce and navigation
were withdrawn, those remaining in effect relating only to peace
and friendship. Among the former were included those covered by
Article 31, being inherent, by their nature, to commerce and
navigation.
Under these circumstances the suggested abrogation of Article 31,
will be Unnecessary because, according to the above statement,
it was set aside in the year 1841. It is probable that deserters
from American merchant ships have been delivered to their
respective consuls subsequent to that date but this has been
done as a general measure of police power and at the request or
petition of foreign consuls. No further constraint other than
this shall be suffered by deserters from American ships.
In this case, therefore, and for the purpose which the American
Government has in view, the present declaration of the Brazilian
Government is sufficient and makes unnecessary any further
formal action which, depending for its effect on the action of
Congress would only entail further delay.
I have [etc.].
