738.3915/430
The Minister in Haiti (Munro) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received August 4.]
Sir: I have the honor to report that the Haitian Minister for Foreign Affairs informed me yesterday that the Haitian Government does not intend to proceed further with the demarcation of the Haitian-Dominican boundary under the provisions of the Haitian-Dominican Treaty of January 21, 1929. He said that this Treaty [Page 785] was a disastrous one from the point of view of the Haitian Government since it ceded to the Dominican Republic forty or fifty thousand acres of fertile land which had always formed a part of Haiti and which were exclusively occupied by Haitian citizens. He felt that no Government here should have concluded such a Treaty in view of the provisions of the Constitution and of the Haitian-American Treaty of September 16, 1915,14 which forbid the cession of territory to any foreign power.
The Minister made this statement out of a clear sky and not in response to any inquiry or suggestion on my part, as I had had no occasion to mention the boundary matter to the Haitian Government for some months. I replied that I should be exceedingly sorry if the Haitian Government decided to adopt such an attitude. I pointed out that boundary settlements were always unpopular in Latin American countries because public opinion invariably had an exaggerated idea of its own Government’s rights and an inadequate understanding of the fact that the other side also had claims and rights which had to be considered. I referred to the many difficulties and even wars which the boundary question had caused in the past and said that the failure of the Haitian Government to abide by a Treaty which had been duly signed and ratified or to recognize the procedure which that Treaty provided for the settlement of disputes arising under it would cause a most unfortunate impression abroad.
Mr. Leger said that the Haitian Government had no idea of repudiating the Treaty. It intended however to refuse to accept the results of the work already accomplished by the boundary commission since he did not feel that the Treaty imposed upon the Government an obligation to accept the commission’s work without subsequent consideration. So far as the arbitral procedure provided by the Treaty was concerned, he felt that there would be no occasion to resort thereto until the two Governments should agree upon the points which were to be submitted to arbitration. The Haitian Government would be willing to discuss a new demarcation of the boundary under the provisions of the Treaty if the Dominican Government adopted a reasonable attitude. Mr. Leger said that he felt that President Borno had erred in good faith in signing the Treaty but that the Haitian Government should never have concluded such an agreement without examining the line on the ground before committing itself to a detailed description thereof.
I again expressed the opinion that a failure to carry out the terms of the Treaty would be exceedingly unfortunate.
[Page 786]I may say that the Dominican Minister has on several occasions discussed the boundary question with me and intimated that he hoped to have this Legation’s support and assistance in the negotiations which he was about to undertake with the Haitian Government. I understood that these negotiations have not yet been begun because the Minister is still awaiting final instructions from Santo Domingo. I have told Dr. Henríquez y Carvajal that we should of course regard with a friendly interest the progress of the negotiations between the two Governments and should be very glad if the boundary matter could be definitely disposed of. I also told him in the strictest confidence that I understood that there were no Haitian Garde posts or Garde patrols in any territory which could possibly be regarded as in dispute and emphasized the necessity of keeping Dominican military forces away from the disputed areas in order to avoid any conflict.
I am sending a copy of this despatch by air mail to the American Legation at Santo Domingo.
Respectfully yours,