681.003/167
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Bingham)
Sir: The Department has received the Embassy’s despatch No. 1275 of March 12, 1935, in which there is transmitted the inquiry of the British Foreign Office regarding the time of the injection of the question of the surrender of the extraterritorial rights of the United States into the negotiations now pending between this country and Spain, looking to the recognition of the Spanish Zone by this Government in exchange for the settlement of outstanding American claims.
In reply you are authorized to advise the Foreign Office that the Spanish Foreign Office brought up the question of the surrender of capitulations during the first conferences in Madrid between the American and Spanish representatives the second week of January. Upon the reiteration by the American representatives of this Government’s position that recognition of the Spanish Zone and surrender of the capitulations were two entirely independent issues, and that the latter could not be dealt with separately in any one Zone in Morocco, the representative of the Foreign Office did not further insist upon that point, although he still intimated his expectation that the abrogation of our extraterritorial rights would speedily follow political recognition of the Spanish Protectorate.
You may reiterate to the Foreign Office that this Government has no present intention of considering the question of the surrender of our extraterritorial rights either in the Spanish or French Zone of Morocco.
Very truly yours,