811.623 Florida/9
The Italian Ambassador ( De Martino ) to the Secretary of State
Excellency: I have the honor to refer to your Excellency’s note of April 6th, 1928, in further relation to a fish and game law which became effective in the State of Florida on July 1st, 1927, and to inform you that I have taken note of Your Excellency’s regret of the apparent reversal by the Authorities of the State of Florida of the position previously taken by them as set forth in Your Excellency’s note of October 11th, 1927.
In the note to which I have the honor to refer, Your Excellency points out that any Italian subject who feels aggrieved by the tax in question may apply to the Courts of the United States in which is vested, under the Constitution and laws of the United States, the authority to interpret treaties.
I thank Your Excellency very much for this suggestion, which concerns the defense of the private interests of the Italian subjects under the laws of the United States, but I wish to call Your Excellency’s attention to the fact that, under the principle universally recognized as rules of international law, the Italian Government are entitled to have treaties respected by the American Authorities, apart from actions that Italian subjects may maintain in the American Courts. I desire also to point out that if the American Courts are competent to interpret treaties in such actions, they are not competent to interpret [Page 117] treaty obligations in a claim of right to be settled between the two Governments. Nor could the Italian Government ever accept that treaty obligations be interpreted by the Governor or the Attorney General of the State of Florida.
It seems to me that since, by the act of American Authorities, the obligations of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation now in force between the United States and Italy have been violated, the United States Government, recurring to the means which may seem advisable to them, should have this wrong readjusted.
Accept [etc.]