711.572/31
The Acting Secretary of State to the Norwegian Minister (Bryn)
My Dear Mr. Minister: Referring to the exchange of notes between you and the Department of February 1, 1919, in respect to the withdrawal of this Government’s, notice of February 2, 1918, denouncing the treaty between the United States and Sweden and Norway of July 4, 1827, I desire to call your attention to the fact, as I have previously pointed out, that the Seamen’s Act repealed the laws of the United States providing for the arrest of seamen deserting foreign ships in this country, effective as to the several Governments with which the United States had treaties in conflict with this Act, upon the expiration of the periods named in the several treaties for their denunciation; and that Articles 13 and 14 of the treaty of 1827 being in conflict with the provisions of the Act mentioned were terminated on July 1, 1916, by the notice given pursuant to the provisions of this Act;57 and that consequently in withdrawing its notice of the denunciation of the Treaty, except as to Articles 13 and 14, this Government understands so far as the laws of the United States are concerned that these Articles terminated on July 1, 1916. I am persuaded that this is also the view of your Government, since on December 11, 191658, you stated that your Legation, under date of September 13, 1916, had instructed Norwegian Consuls, pending the outcome of the negotiations, not to avail themselves of any treaty clause in conflict with the Seamen’s Act.
I am [etc.]
- Foreign Relations, 1915, pp. 6–10.↩
- Note not printed.↩