800.51W89 Hungary/84

The Secretary of State to the Hungarian Minister (Széchényi)

Sir: I have the honor to refer to your note No. 243/Res, dated May 17, 1932, in which, upon instructions from the Royal Hungarian Foreign Office, you stated that while the Royal Hungarian Government had decided to sign the postponement agreement regarding payments during the fiscal year 1932, it expected that should the Government of the United States at any time grant to another debtor nation more favorable terms for the repayment of the amount postponed under the so-called moratorium, the same terms and benefits will be extended to the Royal Hungarian Government also.

I have brought your note under reference to the attention of the Secretary of the Treasury, who is authorized by the Joint Resolution of Congress, approved December 23, 1931, to make, with the approval of the President, debt postponement agreements on the terms and conditions set forth in that Resolution. The Secretary of the Treasury has replied in the following terms:

“The Joint Resolution of Congress approved December 23, 1931, authorizes agreements to be concluded with our foreign debtors for the payment over a period of ten years beginning July 1, 1933, of the amounts postponed during the fiscal year 1932, with interest at the rate of four per centum per annum, in ten equal annuities. [Page 629] This is the authority under which the Treasury Department is proceeding and there can be no deviation from the terms of the Joint Resolution.”

Accept [etc.]

For the Secretary of State
Harvey H. Bundy