File No. 656.119/410
The Minister in the Netherlands (Garrett) to the Secretary of State
[Received 7.30 p.m.]
2457. Note from Minister Foreign Affairs dated yesterday reads:
In your communication of April 131 you communicated the terms under which your Government intends to employ Dutch vessels seized in American ports. I have informed you of the views of Her Majesty’s Government in regard to the legality of this measure, consequently I am able to limit myself in the present communication of transmission of observations of the interested parties to whom I forwarded your above-mentioned letter. These persons draw attention to the manner of payment of the indemnity which will be accorded them. They have received the impression from your letter that the payments which are due to them will be made in sterling. According to a rough calculation, payments due alone will amount to about £1,200,000 per month; namely, about £14,500,000 per year. It is to be foreseen that these payments will cause the rate of exchange of pound sterling and dollar to fall to such an extent that shipowners will receive in florins only an amount which is not to be compared with that which Associated Governments intended to give them at moment of seizure of vessels. They consider, therefore, that minimum on which they should be able to rely is, that payments should be made in Holland at daily rate with minimum of ten florins per pound sterling and two florins ten per dollar. Furthermore they would like to obtain confirmation of following: (a) that hire is a net sum consequently free from all taxes, commissions, etc.; (b) that “ton dead weight” mentioned in paragraph 3 is “ton dead weight according to displacement scale”; (c) scale of values mentioned in paragraph 5 will be communicated to owners as soon as possible. As regards paragraph 5, the persons interested wonder if there has not been an omission in the text and if it was not intended to state that the interested Governments at option of owner “will pay the value of the vessel” or will replace it as soon as possible as has been expressly stipulated in previous communications.
Owners would like to obtain also assurance that bunker coal stores and supplies as well as the private property of the captains, officers, engineers, and members of crew which were on board at time of seizure of vessel will be paid for at the same time as first monthly payment of the hire.
In communicating the observations of the owners I have the honor to add that Her Majesty’s Government considers that the requests formulated are just and accordingly I venture to support them.