711.642/26
The American Minister (Brentano) to the Hungarian Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs (Walkó)4
Excellency: As you are aware, at the time of the signature at Washington on June 24, 1925, of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Consular Rights between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Hungary, an exchange of notes was made between the Secretary of State of the United States and the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Hungary at Washington, in which the understanding was stated and accepted that the ratification of the said Treaty would be subject to reservations and understandings to be set forth in an exchange of notes between the contracting parties in connection with the exchange of ratifications of the said Treaty so as to make it plain that this condition is understood and accepted by each of them, and that these reservations and understandings shall be in substance to the effect that there be added to Article I of the Treaty a statement that nothing contained therein shall be construed to affect existing statutes of either country in relation to the immigration of aliens or the right of either country to enact such statutes, and also that the sixth paragraph of Article VII of the said Treaty shall remain in force for twelve months from the day on which the Treaty becomes effective, and, if not then terminated, on ninety days previous notice shall remain in force until either of the High Contracting Parties shall enact legislation inconsistent therewith, when the same shall [Page 357] automatically lapse at the end of sixty days from such enactment, and on such lapse each High Contracting Party shall enjoy all the rights which it would have possessed had such paragraph not been embraced in the Treaty.
Since that date the Senate in fact, when giving its advice and consent to the ratification of this Treaty, did so with the reservations above set forth.
I am, therefore, instructed by my Government in proceeding to the exchange of ratifications of the Treaty aforesaid, to state to Your Excellency that the exchange is made on the condition, understood and accepted by each of the High Contracting Parties, that its ratification of the said Treaty is subject to the reservations and understandings above recited and set forth in an exchange of notes of June 24, 1925, by the Secretary of State of the United States and the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of Hungary at Washington.
You may regard this note as sufficient acceptance by the Government of the United States of these reservations and understandings, and an acknowledgment of this note on the occasion of the exchange of ratifications, accepting, by direction and on behalf of the Government of Hungary, the said reservations and understandings will be considered by the Government of the United States as completing the required exchange of notes and the acceptance by both Governments of the reservations and understandings.
I avail myself [etc.]
- Transmitted to the Department by the Minister in Hungary under covering despatch of the same date; received Sept. 20, 1926.↩