811.114/1752
The Portuguese Minister (Alte) to the Secretary of
State
Bar
Harbor, Maine, July 25, 1923.
[Received July
28.]
Sir: I have the honour to enclose a
Memorandum stating the position of the Portuguese Government in
respect to the principle involved in the question of the
transportation of alcoholic beverages in American waters referred in
the Department of State’s Memorandum of June 9, 1923.25
Accept [etc.]
[Enclosure—Translation]
The Portuguese
Legation to the Department of
State
The Legation of Portugal forwarded to its government the
memorandum of June 9 last from the State Department relative to
the execution of the laws concerning the transportation of
alcoholic beverages in waters of the United States of
America.
The Legation of Portugal has now received instructions to reply
to the government of the United States that the Portuguese
government animated by the same friendly spirit shown in the
memorandum and without assuming to dispute the concrete point
which the American government says that it is not at liberty to
discuss, cannot with all that refrain from expressing its
reservations to any alteration by the unilateral action of any
country of the principles of international law that are
generally accepted.
[Page 171]
The recognition of the absolute liberty of a country in the
regulation of such matters unavoidably leads to the admission of
the same liberty for all the others and that would lead to
making it possible for each government to rescind through
isolated acts the rules which have obtained by unanimous consent
in the navigation all over the world. The Portuguese government
confidently hopes that the government of the United States will
find a way of reconciling the application of its own law with
the uses and principles heretofore universally admitted with
respect to the condition of facilities in foreign territorial
waters.
