711.48V2/25
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Castle) of a Conversation With the British Ambassador (Lindsay), July 30, 1930
I took up with the Ambassador this morning the question of the renunciation of our rights under our old convention with Zanzibar. I began by saying that, of course, the American authorities did not wish in any way to make difficulties for the British in Zanzibar because of these ancient rights. I said that, as far as I knew, we had not made difficulties up to the present and that I imagined the British desire to abrogate the treaty, or at least to have us surrender certain rights under the treaty, was a theoretical matter. I told him that Zanzibar was just about the only British possession where our consuls [Page 161] had real protection, that I saw no particular reason why we should give up these consular privileges merely to please the British. I said it seemed to me much more sensible, if the British Government was very anxious to dispose of this Zanzibar treaty, which I admitted gave us rights which we would not acquire in any modern treaty, the best way to accomplish the purpose would be to negotiate a consular convention with the United States, which would save trouble all around in the future. I said that we were continually having trouble because of the lack of any consular convention, such, for example, as the British insistence on collecting an income tax on the consuls’ private income.
Sir Ronald said there was no possibility of getting any such agreement because the British Government had no use for a consular convention at all. I said that at least they might be willing to make such a convention covering British possessions outside of the Dominions as that would not make the complication of having to reach an agreement with all the Dominions in the matter. The Ambassador said he would communicate the suggestion, of course, to London, but that he was sure London would not be interested. As a matter of fact, he said Great Britain preferred to throw its consuls into the field and let them sink or swim, that it did not wish to demand for them any particular rights or privileges and for this reason it seemed to him exceedingly unlikely that his Government would take any action. I told him that in that case it seemed to me exceedingly unlikely that we should take any action in the Zanzibar case.