The law was passed without any untoward incident, the Protocol of October
3, 1919, being first read and then the law voted on, paragraph by
paragraph. The vote was unanimous, and was followed by a most ardent
address delivered by Mr. James Thomas, a member of the Council of State,
in which he spoke of the necessity for the passage of the law and all
working in complete accord with the United States Government.
For the past three weeks I have had almost daily conferences with the
President of Haiti and often two or three a day with the
[Page 500]
Minister of Foreign Affairs concerning
this law, and I believe that as a result the law fully meets the views
of both the United States and the Haitian Government. It is my
unqualified opinion that the enactment of the loan law marks the
beginning of a new era of development and progress for Haiti. It is the
first big step, and if promptly followed by others in the direction of
development and a settlement of the interior debts, will have a most
beneficial effect upon the entire country.
In this connection, a few weeks ago I personally drew up a program of
development, and having carefully gone over it in conference with the
Treaty Officials, I took it to the President of Haiti and suggested to
him the advisability of issuing this program officially when the loan
was floated. He was quite enthusiastic about it, and has written me a
very nice letter on the subject, and I am in hopes that he will issue it
shortly, not only in the official organ, Le
Moniteur, but by posters or notices to be posted in all the
large towns throughout the interior.
[Enclosure—Translation46]
Haitian Law of June 26, 1922, Providing for a
$40,000,000 Loan
Louis Borno, President of the Republic,
Under article 55 of the Constitution;47
Under the treaty of September 16, 1915, concluded between Haiti and
the United States of America, and the additional act of March 28,
1917;
Considering, that in order to fulfill the purposes of the treaty
concluded between Haiti and the United States on September 16, 1915,
a protocol was concluded between the two Governments on October 3,
1919;
Considering, that in an exchange of notes between the two
Governments, certain modifications of the protocol were accepted and
confirmed in the notes of the 1st and 3rd of June, 1922;
Considering, that it is urgent that proper measures be taken to
establish the finances upon a solid basis; that it is important to
profit by the present rate of exchange, in order to redeem the
external debt; that it is just and equitable to ameliorate promptly
the situation of the bondholders of the interior debt, to determine
the amount of the floating debt and of the various claims, and to
provide for their settlement, either by redeeming the debt, or by
guaranteeing the service of redemption and interest;
[Page 501]
Considering, that in order to arrive at a revision of the customs
tariff and to diminish the taxes actually borne by the mass of the
people, it is necessary to release the public revenues from the
pledges now existing;
Considering, furthermore, that it is absolutely necessary to assure
by intelligent measures the augmentation of national production, and
consequently to execute all projects for work on public roads and
for irrigation of the plains necessary to attain that end; also,
that it is necessary to organize a proper surveillance of rural
districts and the education and instruction of the rural population,
and to provide for the construction of schoolhouses;
On the reports of the Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs,
Finance and Commerce, Public Works, Public Instruction, and
Agriculture,
And on the advice of the Council of the Secretaries of State,
Has Proposed,
And the Council of State has voted, the following law:
Article I. The Government of the Republic
is authorized to contract, to the best interests of the country, a
loan of $40,000,000 American gold.
The said loan shall be issued in series; the first shall be for about
sixteen millions ($16,000,000), and the others shall be issued as
may be necessary for the needs of the public service.
The terms, amounts, rates of interest, sinking funds, and redemption
of the bonds shall be fixed by the Haitian Government in accord with
the Financial Adviser.
Conforming to article 29 of the Constitution and in the interest of
the contracting parties, the loan contract, once concluded and
signed, shall be submitted to the Council of State for legislative
sanction.
Article II. The stipulations of the
protocol of October 3, 1919, signed between the Haitian Government
and the Government of the United States of America, are and remain
sanctioned, with the following modifications:
- (a)
- The delay of 2 years provided for in article 6 is and
remains prorogued, provided, however, that the loan be
contracted within a reasonable period.
- (b)
- Paragraph 4 of article 3 of the protocol is suppressed,
the sum due having already been paid.
- (c)
- The already liquidated and consolidated interior debt
represented by the bonds issued in 1912, 1913, and 1914—A,
B, and C—shall not be submitted to the Claims Commission;
the Haitian Government
[Page 502]
reserves to itself the right of
continuing the service or of redeeming the bonds.
- (d)
- The proceeds of the bonds as well as the bonds themselves
may be used for the payment of the obligations mentioned in
articles 3 and 7 of the protocol of October 3, 1919; the
reservation of bonds for the 2-year period, for the
conversion referred to in the said article 7, is applicable
only to such of the bonds as are allocated for the purpose
of conversion and does not preclude the immediate use of the
bonds or of the proceeds of the bonds not destined to the
other uses indicated in the above-mentioned protocol.
The dispositions of the said protocol do not amplify, either in fact
or implicitly, the provisions of the treaty of September 16, 1915,
hereinabove mentioned.
Article III. The present law shall be
executed by the diligence of the Secretaries of State for Foreign
Affairs, Finance and Commerce, Public Works and the Interior, Public
Instruction, and Agriculture, each in that which concerns him.
Given in the
Legislative
Palace at Port au
Prince, June 26, 1922, in the
119th year of Independence.
The President,
J. M.
Grandoit
The Secretaries,
Delabarre
Pierre-Louis
Charles
Fombrun
