838.516/302

The Minister in Haiti (Armour) to the Secretary of State

No. 344

Sir: I have the honor to forward herewith a single copy of the report of the Committee of the Chamber of Deputies82 appointed to study the contract for the purchase of the National Bank of Haiti.

The report, which was submitted to the Chamber on June 22, contains a recommendation that the principle of the contract be adopted, although three of the five members signed the report with reservations. The first three pages are devoted to a general discussion of the desirability of state ownership of banking institutions and the remainder to enumeration of the various changes in the terms of the contract which the committee recommends. It is understood that these changes represent substantially those included in the modified contract, a copy of which was forwarded to the Department with the Legation’s despatch No. 340 of June 20,82 with the principal exception that the committee has recommended that under Article 5 the Government will designate three directors rather than two. However, I have been informed personally by the President that he will not consent to this change as he recognizes that it would constitute a change in the substance of the contract. The Department will note that this change was not incorporated in the text of the modified contract which was forwarded with the despatch referred to.

Respectfully yours,

Norman Armour
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