352.1153 St 2/24: Telegram
The Chargé in Spain ( Blair ) to the Secretary of State
[Received 3:55 p.m.]
11. Reference to Department’s 10, January 27, 7 p.m. The attitude of the British is ambiguous and negative. … The British Government is inclined to wait for the final valuations without more protesting and, moreover, is guided by the fact of Spanish companies representing British interests. As I pointed out to the British Ambassador, the Government of Spain has never denied and has accepted implicitly the right of intervention by the American and French Governments for the protection of their interests, which are majority stockholders in Spanish oil companies, because Spanish companies which are owned by foreigners are considered by the Spanish Government to be virtually foreign in the sense of their not enjoying privileges with Spanish-owned companies of equality of treatment in Spain (thus the French Government is maintaining that this violates their treaty of 186211 and in fact our treaty providing for most-favored-nation treatment12). This point of view is taken by the French Government which deems the British Foreign Office’s attitude to be ill-advised and unfortunate under the circumstances.
As to protests after the Spanish oil monopoly became effective from the British, French and United States Embassies, the right of protecting interests of foreign-owned companies in Spain has never been denied by the Spanish Government. In the whole matter the British Embassy has given practically no assistance to the American and French Embassies. Pending further instructions, the British Ambassador says he can at present do nothing, despite the fact that damaging precedents are being established, a fact he admits. Without [Page 843] any apparent connection, he vaguely remarked that British-Spanish relations now are very friendly; he hopes, I believe, to obtain future commercial treaty concessions. In all important matters, principally as to a bank taxation treaty and commercial treaties, I am told by … the British have been consistently surrendering. …
Full cooperation with the American Embassy is desired by the French Ambassador. The only way to get fair treatment without British support, I believe, is united action by the French and Americans.
As to the valuation proceedings at Santander, the French Ambassador proposes to wait until the French company’s last objections have been over-ruled definitely and until an official award. Then he intends to lodge a strong protest. He is now waiting for telegraphic instructions from his Government and hopes reprisals against Spanish interests in France may be threatened. The only chance of fair treatment, he believes, lies in the foreign governments concerned assuming a very firm attitude. The Spanish Finance Minister has recently announced in the National Assembly that, following the successful putting into effect of the petroleum monopoly, the Spanish Government contemplated the nationalizing, which presumably means monopolizing, of insurance, copper and lead industries and further stated that plans were afoot to establish Spanish banks in Latin America under authority of the Bank of Spain.
- Consular convention, signed Jan. 7, 1862, British and Foreign State Papers, vol. lii, p. 139.↩
- Treaty of friendship and general relations, signed July 3, 1902, Foreign Relations, 1903, p. 721. Cf. art. II of the treaty, ibid., p. 722; also notes exchanged October 26 and November 7, 1927, ibid., 1927, vol. iii, pp. 731–732.↩