711.5612a/40
The Department of State to the Netherlands Legation
The observations made by the Netherland Legation in its note No. 3160 of August 29, 1929, relating to the treaty of arbitration under negotiation between the Government of the United States and the Netherland Government have been given careful consideration in the Department of State.
The Government of the United States is greatly pleased that the Netherland Government has seen its way to accept the text for the treaty of arbitration as proposed by the Secretary of State. Note has been made of the request by the Netherland Government, that at the time of the signature of the arbitration treaty an exchange of notes be signed to the effect that the words “which have not been adjusted as a result of reference to the Permanent International Commission constituted pursuant to the treaty signed at Washington, December 18, 1913” in Article I of the arbitration treaty do not have the intention of altering the meaning of the language in Article I of the treaty for the advancement of peace of 1913 between the United States and the Netherlands, defining the matters to be submitted to the Permanent International Commission as being disputes “to the settlement of which previous arbitration treaties or agreements do not apply in their terms or are not applied in fact.”
[Page 631]This Department is glad to state that it does not construe the language hereinabove quoted from the draft of the arbitration treaty under negotiation as altering the meaning of the language hereinabove quoted from Article I of the treaty for the advancement of peace of 1913, contemplating that disputes involving questions of a juridical nature shall as a rule be referred to arbitration. It construes the clause under consideration merely to imply that disputes of a legal nature may first be submitted to the commission in the event that the parties to the two treaties agree in any particular case to make such submission. The Government of the United States will be glad if the Netherland Government will regard this statement as a sufficient assurance of this interpretation and will not feel that it is necessary to insist upon the proposed exchange of notes at the time of signing the treaty.
If, however, notwithstanding the foregoing statement of the views of this Government concerning the interpretation of the language under consideration, the Netherland Government should feel that it is necessary to insist upon the proposed exchange of notes, this Government will raise no objection. In the event that the exchange of notes be decided upon, the Department of State would be glad to receive, at as early a date as may be convenient to the Legation, a draft of the proposed note for its consideration.
The Department of State would also be glad to receive from the Netherland Legation the Dutch text of the treaty as accepted by the Netherland Government.