883.101/8
The Minister in Egypt (Fish) to the Secretary of State
No. 266
Cairo, May 23,
1935.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of the Department’s instruction No. 84 of April 29, 1935,
regarding the recent reorganization of the Municipality of
Alexandria. In the meantime the Department will have also received
the Legation’s despatch No. 235 of
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April 11, 1935,25 forwarding a further protest from the
French Legation.
After further consultations with several of the interested Legations
and a thorough examination of the entire situation, the Legation
decided that it would be more prudent to be on record as having
entered reservations on behalf of the Government of the United
States in regard to the rights acquired by American citizens under
the municipal régime of 1890 which had been established with the
consent of the American Government. While this Legation does not
anticipate that the position of American citizens will in practice
be adversely affected by the reorganization of the municipal
government of Alexandria, it is in entire agreement with the
Department that it may well be regarded as one more attempt to
undermine, by unilateral action, the capitulatory rights of foreign
nationals.
The Legation has accordingly addressed a Note to the Egyptian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, No. 137 of May 22, 1935, of which a
copy is attached, embodying the substance of some of the
observations made by the Department in its instruction under
acknowledgment.
Respectfully yours,
[Enclosure]
The American
Legation to the Egyptian
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
No. 137
The Legation of the United States of America presents its
compliments to the Royal Ministry for Foreign Affairs and has
the honor to refer to Decree-Law No. 1 of January 1, 1935, and
to two Ministerial Orders dated January 2, 1935, regarding the
reorganization of the Municipal Government of Alexandria, which
were published in the Journal Officiel of
January 3 and 4, 1935, respectively.
Under instructions from its Government the Legation of the United
States has the honor to point out to the Royal Egyptian
Government that the United States was one of the Powers which,
in response to a circular Note from the Egyptian Ministry of
Foreign Affairs dated May 16, 1889, assented to the Organic
Decree establishing the Municipality of Alexandria. This assent
was contained in Note No. 1136 of July 8, 1889, from the
American Agency and Consulate General in Cairo.
From this Note it will be observed that the adherence of the
United States was not limited to any particular article or
articles, but applied to the full text of the Decree by which in
1890 the municipal régime of the City of Alexandria was
established.
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The Government of the United States is of the opinion that
inasmuch as the consent of the Powers had been requested and
given in order to make the Decree in question applicable to
capitulatory nationals, it follows that any material
modification of the Decree without the previous consent of the
participating Powers violates the condition on which
capitulatory nationals were made subject to the authority
conferred upon the Municipality of Alexandria by the Organic
Decree, and consequently releases such Powers from their
obligation to subject their nationals to the authority of said
Municipality.
The Government of the United States therefore considers the
unilateral action of the Egyptian Government in reorganizing the
Municipality of Alexandria as likely to impair existing
capitulatory rights of American interests in Egypt, and the
Legation is instructed to reserve all rights of American
nationals whose situation may in any way be affected by
Decree-Law No. 1 of 1935 and the accompanying Ministerial
Orders.
The American Legation avails itself of this opportunity to renew
to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs the assurance of its highest
consideration.
