667.003/157: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the High Commissioner at Constantinople (Bristol)
93. Your October 28 3 PM.27
Written instruction has not yet been sent as Department has not received replies from all three Entente Embassies.28
Department gratified at settlement of Miri question and return to 11%, reported in your communications, but is not prepared to consider deviation from the pre-war régime. You should therefore not agree to consumption duty should authorities seek to collect it.
You should note that even Decree of September 13,29 the legality of which has not been admitted by this Government, does not provide for the consumption duty.
- Not printed.↩
- Separate conferences with representatives of the British, French, and Italian Embassies were held at the Department of State to consider the question of the increased Turkish duties and taxes. There is no record that written replies were made to the notes previously received (see p. 906, footnote 19). The position maintained by the Department in the conferences was identical with that taken in the correspondence with the High Commissioner at Constantinople. Notes sustaining a divergent point of view were received from the French Embassy, Oct. 24; from the British Embassy, Oct. 27; and from the Italian Embassy, Nov. 30; none printed.↩
- See despatch no. 469, Sept. 23, from the High Commissioner, p. 908.↩