838.51/3218: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Minister in Haiti (Gordon)

28. Your 51, November 9, and 52, November 11, and despatch 339, November 6.27 Prompt attention is being given your communications and every effort will be made to send telegraphic instructions tomorrow which will enable you to present to the Haitian Government the draft protocol and accompanying notes. It would seem desirable, therefore, and provided you see no objection, that your engagement with Léger be deferred until Friday.

If it is not practicable or you do not consider it advisable to postpone your engagement you should tell Léger as follows: that this Government is greatly surprised that the Haitian Government appears not to be aware of the arrangements carefully negotiated between the two Governments two years ago for the purpose of terminating financial control; that the willingness of this Government to negotiate the agreement two years ago was contingent upon agreement by the Haitian Government to certain commitments protecting the interests of the bondholders, and the Haitian Government willingly subscribed to these commitments; that for over two years the Department has stood ready to conclude the above-mentioned agreement which was drafted for signature in May 1934; that particularly in view of the expiration of the Treaty of 1916 [1915] these documents require revision; that, accordingly, immediately upon receipt of formal notification of the desire of the Haitian Government to go ahead with termination of financial control, this Government proceeded to consider the existing documents and is now completing, after intensive work, a revision which should bring them up to date so that they may more properly fulfill the common purpose of the two Governments; that you hope to submit to the Haitian Government within a brief time a draft protocol with annexed note which this Government hopes will serve as a satisfactory basis for negotiation.

Moore
  1. Latter not printed.