Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1918

File No. 711.5721/25

The Minister in Norway ( Schmedeman) to the Secretary of State

No. 679

Christiania, February 10, 1918.

Sir: Referring to the Department’s instruction No. 180 of December 28, 1917, with regard to the abrogation of certain provisions found in Articles 13 and 14 of the treaty concluded by the Government of the United States with the Government of Sweden and Norway on July 4, 1827, which were affected by the so-called Seamen’s Act of March 4, 1915, I have the honor to confirm my telegram No. 516 of yesterday’s date¹ informing the Department that, on February 2, 1918, I addressed a note to the Royal Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs as directed in the instruction above referred to, and quoting, in translation, the contents of a note dated the 5th instant which I received from him in reply. I enclose herewith copy and translation of the Foreign Minister’s note and have the honor to report that, in acknowledging its receipt to his excellency, I have stated that it would be transmitted to my Government and that he would be informed of the reply as soon as received.

In accordance with the Department’s instruction, the date for the termination of the treaty inserted in my communication to the Foreign Office containing the notice of denunciation was February 2, 1919.

I have [etc.]

A. G. Schmedeman

[Enclosure—Translation]

The Norwegian Minister for Foreign Affairs ( Ihlen) to the American Minister ( Schmedeman)

Christiania, February 5, 1918.

Mr. Minister: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of February 2 last, in which you, on behalf of your Government, denounce the treaty of commerce and navigation concluded on July 4, 1827, between Norway (and Sweden) of the one part and the United States of America of the other part.

In your note you state that it has become clear that the Norwegian Government finds itself unable to acquiesce in any of the proposals which have been submitted by your Government with regard to an understanding for the abrogation of the stipulations of the treaty which are inconsistent with the act of Congress of March 4, 1915, and that, for this reason, the Government of the United States is under the necessity of denouncing the treaty in its entirety.

In this connection, I take the liberty of calling your attention to my note to you of October 29 last, in which I stated in regard to one of the two articles concerned, namely Article 14, that the Norwegian Government was prepared to accept an arrangement establishing its abrogation. With regard to the second of the two articles, namely Article 13, I inquired in the note whether an arrangement conceived in the terms set forth therein would be satisfactory to your Government, while reserving to myself the right to revert to the two alternatives of the arrangement in question contained in your note of May 9 last. It appears to the Norwegian Government that the note on this point must have occasioned the misunderstanding on the part of the United States that the Norwegian Government was unwilling further to discuss the proposal of the American Government.

The Norwegian Government, which agrees with the American Government in its previously expressed desire to avoid the abrogation of the long treaty in its entirety, is still prepared to cooperate in bringing about an arrangement of the matter in question so as to eliminate the stipulations of the treaty which are inconsistent with the provisions of the act of Congress of March 4, 1915.

The Norwegian Government has given a proof of the accommodating spirit which it desires to show in this matter by the fact that the Norwegian Legation in Washington, as stated to the American Secretary of State in a note verbale of December 11, 1916, has instructed the Norwegian consuls in the United States not to apply or invoke any treaty stipulations which are inconsistent with the above-mentioned act of Congress as long as negotiations are pending in regard to a change in the treaty stipulations.

I have the honor to request that you will kindly inform me whether the American Government would be willing to explain the objection which it has to the Norwegian Government’s proposal of October 29 last, concerning Article 13, as the Norwegian Government was of the opinion that such an arrangement would give full assurance of the elimination of any inconsistency between the treaty and the act of Congress.

As it appears from your note of February 2 last that your Government has not been able to consent to the proposal referred to, the Norwegian Government is willing to accede to the proposal put forward by the American Government, provided that the denunciation of the treaty contained in your note of the 2d instant ceases to have effect. The Norwegian Government would prefer an exchange of notes having in view the entire abrogation of the second paragraph of Article 13 rather than the other alternative contained in your note of May 9 last.

Thus, the Norwegian Government will be willing to exchange notes to the effect that the notice given by the American Government in regard to the stipulation in question of the treaty of 1827 be considered by both Governments as having had the effect that the 2d paragraph of Article 13 and the whole of Article 14 are abrogated.

Accept [etc.]

Ihlen

1. Not printed.