File No. 600.001/9
The Ambassador in France (Sharp) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 31, 9 a. m.]
1771. Your 1891, December 20, 6 p. m. Informed at Foreign Office that ratification by Council of Ministers, as reported in Embassy’s despatch 3544 of August 25,1 is final and does not require subsequent ratification by legislature. Foreign Office stated that resolutions adopted at conference had been ratified by all the signatory powers except Italy, Russia, and Japan, and that the two latter were on the point of ratifying.
No legislation has yet been enacted in France to carry out the resolutions, the provisions of which were in part made operative by decrees enacted before conference met, such as prohibition of trading with the enemy, importation of merchandise of enemy origin, sequestration, contraband and embargo lists. The latter have since been modified and amplified from time to time. The publication of black list is outcome of resolution adopted to cover this point. It is further learned that a bill is being studied with a view to legislating as regards the liquidation of commercial houses or firms on French territory now under sequestration, as such liquidation cannot be carried out without provision of law.
- Not printed.↩