File No. 656.119/723
The Netherland Chargé ( De Beaufort ) to the Secretary of State
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of August 6 regarding certain ships which my Government wishes to use in transporting grain-cereals to Holland.
[Page 1519]You state that my note of July 231 does not give full information with respect to certain points raised in your note of July 9.
In reply I have the honor to inform you that I have just received a communication from my Government which enables me to give you the following information.
The Netherland Government has energetically protested on May 27, 1918, against the modification of article 55 of the German prize regulation. The protest conveyed that the presumption established in the new rule is devoid of any foundation from a standpoint of international law. The fact that the Associated Governments have appropriated the use of a part of the Netherland ships in order to place them in their service under belligerent flag, does not constitute any proof or indication that the part of the ships which remains and which navigates under Netherland flag renders itself guilty of hostile assistance. There is no good motive for the reversal of the obligation to furnish evidence, which reversal is involved in the modification of the prize regulations. Such rule would—even if the prize court were most impartial—expose the Netherland navigation to the most serious losses as a result of delays suffered by the detention of the ships. The attitude adopted by the German Government in the matter of safe-conducts could not remedy the unlawfulness of the new measure.
On June 13, 1918, the German Government replied that it repudiates the reproach that the modification would be unjust and contrary to international law. If in the struggle for sea traffic neutral powers lend assistance to the enemies by permitting the transfer of tonnage, they can not complain that Germany establishes a legal presumption which corresponds with the existing probability.
On June 30 the Netherland Government replied that there can be no question of an existing probability that a ship under Netherland flag and supplied with Netherland papers would be one of those seized by the Associated Governments. The legal presumption that such vessel belongs to the aforesaid class is devoid of any foundation and contrary to international law.
The contents of the protest were published on May 27 in reply to a question put by a member of Parliament.
The people of the Netherlands are therefore advised as to the facts in question.
In my note of July 101 I had the honor to inform you concerning the export of potatoes from Holland, mentioned in the last paragraph of your note of July 23. In accordance with recent information received from my Government I may add that if Holland would [Page 1520] have been in a position to release 20,000 tons of early potatoes for export to Germany, it would have received 50,000 tons of coal in return. However, the scarcity of all edibles in my country has made it imperative to reserve the early potatoes in a larger quantity for Holland’s population and the export to Germany has consequently been limited to 9,000 tons in spite of the pressing need of coal of which now only nine-twentieths of the above-mentioned 50,000 tons could be obtained.
There is, moreover, no intention on the part of the Netherland Government to make large exports of edibles as was rumored in some quarters in the United States. In fact, butter, cheese and meat are now not exported at all and no prospect of such export has been opened to Germany. The export of potatoes has been entirely stopped.
You observe in your note of August 6 that I stated in my note of July 23 that my Government is reluctant to publish a statement regarding the shipping situation until the United States Government has acted favorably on the request of the Netherland Government that bunker facilities should be furnished to the three Netherland vessels Jason, Cornelis and Amsteldyk.
With regard to this observation I wish to point out that I wanted to make clear in my note of August 6 [July 23] that if it would appear from a statement which my Government is going to publish shortly regarding the shipping situation, that the United States are not willing to put at the disposal of the Netherland Government the seven ships mentioned in my note, this would make a most painful impression on the public opinion in Holland.
I trust that the United States Government after having received the above information will have no objection in complying with the request of my Government with regard to the ships in question.
I will very much appreciate if you will kindly inform me, if possible within a short delay, which decision has been taken by the United States Government in this matter and if you will at the same time let me know if assurances will be given that the Sirrah and the Djebres (the exchange ships for the Zyldyk and Hector) will upon their arrival in the United States be enabled to load cargoes of grain-cereals for Holland, as I had the honor to request in my note of August 2.1
Please accept [etc.]