711.38/145½
The Acting Secretary of State to the Haitian Chargé (Blanchet)
Sir: The Department has received your note of September 8, last,39 transmitting in accordance with instructions received from your Government a statement of the Government of Haiti regarding the agreement of August 24, 1918, which provides for the submission by the Government of Haiti of all proposed legislation bearing upon any of the objects of the Treaty of September 16, 1915, to the American Legation.
The statement transmitted with the note under acknowledgment quotes the notes submitted by the American Minister at Port au Prince to the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs under date of June 25, 1918,40 and relates the facts which caused the sending of the note verbale addressed by the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs to the American Minister at Port au Prince under date of August 24, 1918. The Department of State concurs in the view expressed by the Government of Haiti that the agreement entered into by means of the latter note verbale constitutes the agreement of August 24, 1918, so often referred to in correspondence between the American Legation at Port au Prince and the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Department has further noted the statement of the Haitian Government that by virtue of this agreement of August 24, 1918, the Government of Haiti has always submitted to the diplomatic representative of the United States in Haiti for the information of this Government, and in case of necessity for a discussion between the two Governments, all legislation bearing upon any of the objects of the Treaty before transmission to the legislative body of the Haitian Republic.
The Department is, however, surprised to find no mention made in the communication under acknowledgment of the further negotiations [Page 807] between the American Legation in Haiti and the Haitian Government regarding the manner in which the original agreement of August 24, 1918, should be carried out. The Haitian Government will doubtless recall that difficulties arose as to the interpretation of this agreement, and that the American Legation found that the Haitian Government did not coincide in the opinion of the Legation that, in order to attain the aims of the Treaty and in order to make close cooperation between the two Governments practicable, it was paramount that all proposed legislation of whatever character be communicated to the Legation before submission to the legislative body. The American Minister moreover officially informed the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs that in his opinion, the agreement of August 24, 1918, covered all proposed legislation and that if any project of law communicated to the Legation in accordance with this agreement did not bear upon any of the objects of the Treaty, it would immediately be returned by the American Legation to the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs with a statement that the Legation saw no objection to it, while if the project were not contrary to the terms of the Treaty, but contained some objectionable features, in the opinion of the American Legation, the American Minister and the Haitian Minister of Foreign [Affairs] could doubtless come to an understanding for their removal.
In order to avoid future difficulties caused by the passage of laws which had not been communicated to the American Legation, the American Minister in the month of November, 1918, had several interviews with the President of Haiti as a result of which the President agreed that upon the receipt of any law passed by the legislative body and submitted to the President for action, the President himself would communicate such law to the Legation before promulgation. The President gave to the American Minister at that time the most formal assurances that there would be no recurrence of difficulties occasioned by the passage of laws which had not been previously submitted to the American Legation, and to this end after conferences with his Cabinet and the members of the Council of State, officially announced to the American Legation that the following modus operandi would be followed:
1. The Government to be in accord with the Conseil d’État in its advisory capacity upon any project of law before its submission to the Legation.
2. If the Legation has no objection to the proposed law it will be sent to the Conseil d’État to be passed, as agreed.
3. Should the Legation find objections, negotiations towards an understanding will be entered into with the Government, and the agreement reached communicated to the Conseil d’État in its advisory capacity, for their accord.
[Page 808]The Government, the Conseil d’État and the Legation, being in accord, the project of law will then be sent to the Conseil d’État in its legislative capacity to be passed as agreed.
4. To guard against any possible errors, the law after its passage by the Legislative Body and its submission to the President for his action, will be sent by him in communication to the Representative of the United States, before promulgation.
In view of these circumstances, the Department of State is of the opinion that the agreement of August 24, 1918, has been interpreted by both the Government of the United States and the Government of Haiti as covering all legislation and will be glad to receive assurances from the Government of Haiti that it concurs in the opinion expressed by the Department of State.
Accept [etc.]
- Not printed.↩
- See telegram of June 22, 1918, to the Minister in Haiti, Foreign Relations, 1919, vol. ii, p. 304; the note was delivered to the President of Haiti.↩