These cables being mentioned in Annex VII of the Peace Treaty of
Versailles, will be one of the subjects under discussion at the
Preliminary Cable Conference, which is now being held in this
City.
Under these circumstances my Government wishes me to bring to the
knowledge of the delegates to this conference its point of view with
regard to this question, and I have therefore taken the liberty to
send you the enclosed statement.
[Enclosure]
Memorandum
According to Annex VII of the Peace Treaty of Versailles, Germany
has renounced on her own behalf and on behalf of her nationals
in favour of the Principal Allied and Associated Powers all
rights, titles or privileges of whatever nature in the submarine
cables or in any portions thereof mentioned in this Annex,
amongst others in the cables of the German-Netherland Telegraph
Company, t.w. those from Yap Island to Shanghai, from Yap Island
to Guam and from Yap Island to Menado.
The rise of this Company originated in a treaty concluded between
The Netherlands and Germany at Berlin on July 24th, 1901 which
Treaty was ratified by Holland by an Act promulgated on August
5th, 1902 (Stbl. No. 122 of 1902).
In this Treaty the Netherland and German Governments jointly
undertook to further the laying and exploiting, by a
Dutch-German Company, of a cable connecting the Dutch
East-Indian Government cable system at Menado with the American
Pacific Cable at Guam and with the Transsiberian system via
Shanghai, in both cases via the then German Island of Yap. The
Dutch and German Governments each undertook to grant to the
Company the right of abutting on their territory for 40 years,
without prejudice in each case to their respective sovereign
prerogatives. Both Governments agreed to pay subsidy to the
Company.
In the concession subsequently granted by the Netherland
Government to the German-Netherland Telegraph Company (which is
in all important respects identical to the one granted by the
German Government) and in the statutes of this company
provisions are made to the effect that the Company should obtain
its capital from both Dutch and German sources, that the
Company’s statutes should require the assent of both
Governments, that of the two managing directors one should be of
Netherland nationality, that his nomination should require the
assent of the Netherland Government, and that the Netherland
Government should moreover officially be represented on the
Board of the Company by a commissioner.
In order to be able to judge about the question in how far its
rights and those of its nationals are affected by Annex VII of
the Peace Treaty the Netherland Government starts from the
principle,
- a.
- that a Treaty between States only affects those
persons and all those other things who and which are
subject to the Authority of the State which has acceded
to that Treaty,
- b.
- that a treaty being a joint act of two States stands
above their respective national laws but not above a
Treaty concluded at an earlier date by one of the
contracting states with a third state.
[Page 134]
Thus did Germany according to the wording of Annex VII not
transfer the cables in question but its “rights, titles or
privileges” whatever they were.
The Netherland Government is of the opinion that the following
situation with regard to the cables Yap–Menado, Yap-Guam,
Yap–Shanghai, has arisen in consequence of the ratification of
the Peace Treaty: The Netherlands and The Netherlands’ share and
bondholders in their relation to this cable-system find now
before them the Powers to whom Germany has transferred those
rights.
Confident that these Powers agree with the point of view as
outlined above, Her Majesty’s Government wishes to state that it
will be glad to take into favorable consideration any proposals
aiming at a continuation of the cable-system of the
German–Netherland Telegraph Company.
Such aim could be realized f.i. by transferring the exploitation
of the cable-system to a combination which would be willing and
in a position to establish, by preference in The Netherlands,
and in accordance with provisions to be agreed upon between The
Netherland Government and the Governments concerned, a company
for that purpose.
