838.51/3631: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Minister in Haiti ( Mayer )
50. Your despatch no. 198 of June 15, 1938.27 De la Rue states that when he broached the matter of an extension of the partial moratorium in the amortization of the 1929 loan to Mr. Francis White of the Foreign Bondholders Protective Council, the latter expressed sympathy and understanding of the Haitian position and extended “a friendly and favorable reception to the presentation made” to the effect that it would be impossible for Haiti to continue to maintain the essential services of government if it is to resume the full amortization payments on October 1 of this year.
Accordingly you are requested to acknowledge the receipt of note no. 38 of June 14 from the Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs, a copy of which was enclosed in your despatch under reference. You should state in your acknowledgment that you are authorized, and authorization is hereby given you, to sign a supplemental executive agreement extending the Accord of January 13, 1938 for 1 year from September 30, 1938.
Referring to the statement in the Haitian note that the Government of Haiti will continue during the period of the prolongation all the engagements set forth in its note of June 11, 1938, and referring also to the undertaking of the Haitian Government in the last-mentioned note that extraordinary appropriations outside of the general budget would be restricted to emergencies, duly recognized as such in accord with the Fiscal Representative, during the period of the default, you may state in your acknowledgment that “My government understands that the specific undertaking mentioned is not designed to prevent appropriations for the construction of public works aimed at increasing the economic prosperity of the country, the funds for which will be obtained from a loan floated by the Haitian Government for this specific purpose. Please advise me whether your government shares this understanding.”
[Page 599]It is the Department’s desire that the new agreement be drawn up in the identical text of the above-named agreement of January 13, 1938 with the exception of the first clause in Article I which should read as follows: “On and after October 1, 1938 and until and including September 30, 1939, all moneys, et cetera.” The date on which the Accord is to be signed is left for determination by mutual agreement with the Haitian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
- Not printed; it transmitted copies in French of the Haitian Government’s note of June 14 and its enclosures.↩