738.3915/345
The Minister in the Dominican Republic (Young) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 5.]
Sir: Supplementing previous reports in regard to the informal negotiations now in progress concerning the Haitian-Dominican boundary question, I have the honor to submit the following brief report respecting the present status of the negotiations.
Beginning at the North, an informal agreement has been reached with respect to the line from the mouth of the Dajabón river down to Toussaint, a small town about fifteen miles northeast of Lake del Fondo. Under the agreement the Dominican Government will receive from Haiti sufficient territory so that the road which now connects Banica and Restauración will lie entirely within Dominican territory.
As compensation for the territory referred to above, the Dominican Government has agreed to give Haiti all of Lake del Fondo, through which the status quo line now runs, and sufficient territory between Tierra Nueva and the edge of the lake so that the Haitians may travel around the lake, on the east and northern sides, without having to cross over into Dominican territory.
An agreement in principle has been reached with respect to the major portion of the line between Jimani and the mouth of the Pedernales river. One troublesome question, however, remains to be adjusted. A Haitian road leading north from the port of Anses-á-Pitre crosses the Pedernales river some eleven times near Banane. The Haitian Government is asking for the cession to it of a small strip of land, about four kilometers in length and one kilometer in width, at this point in order that this road may lie entirely within Haitian territory. The Dominican Government is reluctant to accede to this request and desires that the river shall serve as the boundary. As a compromise, the Dominican Government has informally suggested that that portion of the road which would traverse Dominican territory be internationalized. This suggestion appears to be unacceptable to the Haitian Minister.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Sanchez, with whom I informally conferred at length yesterday, informs me that he is entirely willing personally to accede to the Haitian request for the cession of the small strip of territory involved. He is arranging for a reconsideration of the matter by the Dominican commission and is hopeful that the matter can be adjusted. With the settlement of this remaining point an informal agreement will again have been reached with regard to the entire boundary.
[Page 711]The present session of Congress terminates tomorrow, but it is the intention of President Vasquez to convene the Congress in special session, so soon as an agreement shall have been reached, for the purpose of enacting the necessary legislation preparatory to the convoking of a constituent assembly for the purpose of amending Article 3 of the Constitution.
The Department will be kept promptly and fully informed of all developments.
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