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  4. 6a. Declaration modifying the preceding agreement, signed at Paris, December 8, 1919

6a. Declaration modifying the preceding agreement, signed at Paris, December 8, 19191

Signed at Paris, December 8, 1919; accession by Rumania, December 9, 1919; in force for signatories July 16, 1920, except: Japan, October 14, 1920 (notice of ratification deposited January 25, 1921); Belgium, July 24, 1920; Cuba, August 16, 1920; Portugal, October 15, 1921; Rumania, September 4, 1920.

United States: Not submitted to the Senate by the President; Unperfected Treaties S–9.

Applicable to Hungary by operation of article 74, paragraph 2, of the treaty of peace with Hungary signed at Trianon, June 4, 1920 and in force July 26, 1921.

Nicaragua, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, though named in the preamble, did not sign, accede, or ratify.

DECLARATION

modifying the agreement of september 10, 1919, between the allied and associated powers with regard to the italian reparation payments.

[Page 835]

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, BELGIUM, THE BRITISH EMPIRE, CHINA, CUBA, FRANCE, GREECE, ITALY, JAPAN, NICARAGUA, PANAMA, POLAND, PORTUGAL, SIAM AND THE CZECHOSLOVAK STATE, Powers who have signed the Agreement concluded on September 10, 1919, at Saint-Germain-en-Laye with regard to the Italian reparation payments, and the SERB-CROAT-SLOVENE STATE, which by an Act dated December 5, 1919, has acceded to the said Agreement subject to the modifications which are the subject of the present Declaration,

Have agreed to modify the Agreement referred to above as follows:

Article 4 is replaced by the following provision:

Article 4.

The sum so calculated, together with the value of the property and possessions of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy transferred to Italy, assessed in accordance with Article 208, Part IX (Financial Clauses) of the Treaty of Peace with Austria, shall be set off against the approved claims of Italy for reparation.

Italy shall, within three months after being requested by the Reparation Commission so to do, issue bonds to the amount of these two sums, and shall deliver them to such person or body as the Governments of the United States of America, the British Empire, France and Italy may designate.

The above bonds shall be to bearer, principal and interest being payable by Italy without deduction for any tax or charge imposed by her or under her authority. The bonds shall bear interest at the rate of five per cent. per annum payable half yearly, beginning on January 1, 1926. They shall be repaid in twenty-five equal annual drawings, beginning on January 1, 1931. Italy may, however, at her option, redeem all or part of the bonds issued by her at par and accrued interest at any time, provided ninety days’ notice of her intention so to do is given to the Governments of the United States of America, the British Empire and France.

As and when payments on such bonds fall due, the Reparation Commission shall retain, against the sums due to Italy for reparation, the sums required for interest and amortization.

Plenipotentiaries who in consequence of their temporary absence from Paris have not signed the present Declaration may do so up to December 20, 1919.

[Page 836]

Made in French, in English, and in Italian, of which in case of divergence the French text shall prevail, at Paris, the eighth day of December one thousand nine hundred and nineteen.

  • Frank L. Polk.
  • Rolin-Jaequemyns.
  • Eyre A. Crowe.
  • George H. Perley.
  • Andrew Fisher.
  • Thomas Mackenzie.
  • R. A. Blankenberg.
  • Eyre A. Crowe.
  • Vikyuin Wellington Koo.
  • Rafael Martinez Ortiz.
  • G. Clemenceau.
  • S. Pichon.
  • L. L. Klotz.
  • André Tardieu.
  • Jules Cambon.
  • A. Romanos.
  • G. de Martino.
  • K. Matsui.
  • R. A. Amador.
  • Affonso Costa.
  • Charoon.
  • Nik. P. Pachitch.
  • Dr. Ante Trumbic.
  • Dr. Ivan Zolger.

[ANNEX]

excerpt from treaty of peace between the allied and associated powers and austria, signed at saint-germain-en-laye, september 10, 1919

Article 208. States to which territory of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy is transferred and States arising from the dismemberment of that Monarchy shall acquire all property and possessions situated within their territories belonging to the former or existing Austrian Government.

For the purposes of this Article, the property and possessions of the former or existing Austrian Government shall be deemed to include the property of the former Austrian Empire and the interests of that Empire in the joint property of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, as well as all the property of the Crown, and the private property of members of the former Royal Family of Austria-Hungary.

These States shall, however, have no claim to any property of the former or existing Government of Austria situated outside their own respective territories.

The value of such property and possessions acquired by States other than Austria shall be fixed by the Reparation Commission and placed by that Commission to the credit of Austria and to the debit [Page 837] of the State acquiring such property on account of the sums due for reparation. The Reparation Commission shall deduct from the value of the public property thus acquired an amount proportionate to the contribution in money, land or material made directly by any province or commune or other autonomous local authority towards the cost of such property.

Without prejudice to Article 203 relating to secured Debt, in the case of each State acquiring property under the provisions of this Article, the amount placed to the credit of Austria and to the debit of the said State in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall be reduced by the value of the amount of the liability in respect of the unsecured Debt of the former Austrian Government assumed by that State under the provisions of Article 203 which, in the opinion of the Reparation Commission, represents expenditure upon the property so acquired. The value shall be fixed by the Reparation Commission on such basis as the Commission may consider equitable.

Property of the former and existing Austrian Governments shall be deemed to include a share of the real property in Bosnia-Herzegovina of all descriptions for which, under Article 5 of the Convention of February 26, 1909,1 the Government of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy paid £ T. 2,500,000 to the Ottoman Government. Such share shall be proportionate to the share which the former Austrian Empire contributed to the above payment, and the value of this share, as assessed by the Reparation Commission, shall be credited to Austria on account of reparation.

As exception to the above there shall be transferred without payment:

(1)
the property and possessions of provinces, communes and other local autonomous institutions of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, including those in Bosnia-Herzegovina which did not belong to the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
(2)
schools and hospitals the property of the former Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.
(3)
forests which belonged to the former Kingdom of Poland.

Further, any building or other property situated in the respective territories transferred to the States referred to in the first paragraph whose principal value lies in its historic interest and associations, and which formerly belonged to the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Poland, the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia-Dalmatia, [Page 838] Bosnia-Herzegovina, the Republic of Ragusa, the Venetian Republic or the Episcopal Principalities of Trient and Bressanone, may, subject to the approval of the Reparation Commission be transferred to the Government entitled thereto without payment.

  1. File 186.5/25.↩
  2. 102 British and Foreign State Papers, p. 180.↩