The Danish Minister to the Secretary of State
Washington, February 22, 1902.
Mr. Secretary of State: I have the honor to inform your excellency, that I have today received a despatch from his excellency the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, dated Copenhagen, February the 8th, acknowledging the receipt of the convention which I had the honor to sign with your excellency on January the 24th for the cession to the United States of the Danish West India Islands.
[Page 519]The Minister states that a clerical error has been found in the Danish text of Article II of the copy intended for Denmark. This Article begins as follows in said copy: [Danish copy omitted] while the corresponding passage in the English text reads as follows:
The aforesaid title conveys to the United States the absolute fee and ownership to all public, Government or Crown lands, public buildings, ports, etc.
The English text is identical with the text approved by your excellency before the final signature of the treaty, but the following words:
“Offentlige, Regjerings-eller Kron-Grundstykker,” being the exact translation of “public, Government or Crown lands,” have fallen out by the engrossing of the Danish text here at this Legation.
The Minister instructs me to inform your excellency that the above-mentioned Danish words should be inserted in the beginning of Article II between the words “alle” and “offentlige”, and that this addition has already been made in Copenhagen in the copy of the convention intended for Denmark. The Minister also expresses the hope, that if the same clerical error should be found in the copy intended for the United States, your excellency would cause the same addition to be made therein and, this done, would so inform me by a note, and that it would not be necessary to specially mention this correction of a clerical error in the instrument of ratification.
I regret extremely that this error should have occurred owing to the great haste considered necessary when the work of engrossing took place in the first days of December last, but venture to hope, that your excellency will approve of the addition made in Copenhagen in the copy intended for Denmark and will find it possible to have the same addition made in the copy intended for the United States without the formality of signing entirely new copies of the convention.
I have [etc.]