Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1924, Volume II

881.00/916

The Secretary of State to the British Chargé (Brooks)

Washington, July 11, 1924.

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the Ambassador’s note of May 29, 1924, informing me of the ratification by the Governments of Great Britain, France and Spain, of the convention signed by those Governments on December 18, 1923, regarding the statute of Tangier, and the deposit of such ratifications on May 14, 1924, at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Paris. The Ambassador states that he has been instructed by his Government to ask, in concert with his French and Spanish colleagues, the accession of the Government of the United States to this convention.

I beg to inform you that this Government has given careful consideration to the request and to the convention and related documents with reference to the proposed administration of the Tangier Zone.

It is observed that the representation which the three signatory Powers have assigned to this Government in the conduct of affairs in Tangier is of a far more limited character than that now enjoyed and quite disproportionate to that which the three Powers have allocated to themselves. This Government would not, therefore, care to assume the responsibility which it feels would of necessity devolve upon it from participation in the administration of the Zone, while having no appreciable part in formulating the policies or conducting the affairs of the Zone.

This Government has no political interest in Tangier and no desire or purpose to obtain any special rights or privileges which would abridge the rights of nationals of other states. Its interests, as was indicated in the reservation made at the time it signed the Act of Algeciras in 1906, and in the Resolution by which the Senate gave its advice and consent to ratification thereof, lie in securing for all peoples the fullest measure of equality of opportunity for commerce and industry in Morocco and in the protection of the life, liberty and property of citizens of the United States going into or having interests in that country.

Having thus stated the reasons why this Government does not find it practicable to participate in the proposed administrative machinery of the Tangier Zone and the interests which it is this Government’s purpose to protect, I shall indicate with more particularity this Government’s position with respect to the establishment of a regime of the character contemplated.

It is evident from the text of the convention that notwithstanding the proposed participation of other Powers in governmental activities of the Zone, the principal control will be vested in the three signatory Powers, Great Britain, France, and Spain. In many respects the political status of the Zone will be anomalous. It appears, for example, that responsibility for the maintenance of public order and the general administration of the Zone is, under delegation of authority by His Shereefian Majesty, to devolve upon the authority specified in the convention. Sovereignty over the Zone, however, is to remain in His Shereefian Majesty and diplomatic matters are specifically reserved to the Moroccan Government acting through the intermediary of France under Article 5 of the Protectorate Treaty of 1912. The Zone is not, therefore, to be an independent political entity, with an existence separate and apart from the parent State, but will on the contrary be in the nature of a municipality, granted limited legislative, executive and judicial powers, under a charter from the sovereign. So long as the convention shall remain in force (it specifies a period of twelve years), parties thereto apparently can look only to the administration of the Zone for the observance of treaty rights, and the satisfaction of any claims, grievances, or wrongs of an international character. The administration being international in character would not, therefore, be accountable to any one Power, nor would any one Power be responsible for the acts of the administration. It is therefore conceivable that with no central authority responsible for acts of the Zone administration, difficulty may be experienced by aggrieved parties in obtaining proper recognition of rights, the violation of which, under ordinary conditions, might afford just grounds for international reclamation.

This Government being desirous, however, of placing no obstacle in the way of an honest effort to improve conditions in Tangier, would, after having had an opportunity to examine the regulations and codes referred to in Articles 32 and 48 respectively of the convention, consider the possibility of suspending the extraterritorial rights in the Zone to the extent that such rights appear to be safeguarded by the new regime on the following conditions:

1. That the meaning of the provisions concerning the observance of economic equality shall be explained with greater particularity, for the purpose of maintaining with no uncertainty the principle of the open door. This Government understands that the terms “economic equality among nations” and “regime of economic equality” used in Articles 7 and 30, respectively, of the convention, require, among other things, (a) that in all matters pertaining to customs or tonnage duties, warehousing, port dues, or other charges, or taxes of whatever character appertaining to industry, trade or commerce, there shall be no discrimination in law or in fact placing or tending to place the nationals, products or ships of one country at any disadvantage as compared with those of another country; (b) that in the right to acquire and hold property, in the pursuit of occupations, industry or professions, and in all that pertains to facilities of any kind, there shall be no discrimination; (c) that in the granting of concessions of all kinds as well as in the granting of contracts for public works and in the purchase of supplies, there shall be suitable opportunity for competition and open bidding free from any condition or provision calculated to give competitors of one nationality any advantage over those of another; and (d) that no monopoly or exclusive privilege shall be created or granted which would result in monopolization of the markets, resources, or facilities of the Tangier Zone for the benefit of any special interests, directly or indirectly, or in any exclusion or preferential advantage inconsistent with the principle of complete equality of opportunity.

2. That the signatories to the convention under consideration shall acknowledge to this Government, and assume full responsibility for any acts or omissions of the administrative authorities of the Zone which would ordinarily give rise to a right of international reclamation.

3. That in connection with the administration of justice, it shall be understood that this Government shall be free to designate the associate judge or judges to sit in any case in which an American citizen is a party, from among the personnel of the American Consulate in Tangier.

4. That this Government receive confirmation of its understanding that the provisions of Article 13 of the convention with respect to semsars are intended in no way to affect the existing rights with respect to semsars in other parts of Morocco.

5. That it be clearly understood with respect to the extension to the Tangier Zone of future international agreements concluded by His Shereefian Majesty with other Powers, that no such agreement shall be considered as abridging the rights of American citizens in Tangier without the consent of this Government.

Communications similar to this have been sent in response to the notes from the French and Spanish Ambassadors.¹²

Accept [etc.]

Charles E. Hughes

12. Not printed.