ventions telles qu'elles figurent dans le document ci-joint ont reçu l'approbation du Gouvernement français. La lettre de votre Seigneurie et la présente réponse seront donc dès maintenant considérées comme faisant foi de l'accord établi sur ce point entre nos Gouvernements respectifs. Veuillez agréer, &c. SAINT-AULAIRE. No. I. Memorandum of Agreement between Great Britain and France with regard to the ultimate Disposal of Ex-Enemy Tonnage. April 22, 1920. 1. FRANCE accepts the terms of the Wilson-Lloyd George Agreement as forming the basis for division, subject to the following: (a.) That the ships shall be divided into zones of readiness (i.) Those already delivered or deliverable by the 15th June to form one zone. (ii.) Those for subsequent delivery to be divided into two zones-damaged vessels and uncompleted vessels. Any further sub-division, if required, to be left for subsequent decision. (b.) Sailing-vessels to make a fourth class under 3 of the Wilson-Lloyd George Agreement. Sailing-vessels also to be divided into zones as in (a). Each zone would be treated separately for the purpose of division of tonnage under the Wilson-Lloyd George Agreement. The tonnage deliverable by the 15th June to be decided immediately by a Joint Committee and to form the basis of division for this purpose. 2. France agrees to be bound by the terms of the Agreement between Great Britain and Italy dated the 25th September, 1919, and the 13th and 15th October, 1919. 3. France agrees to be bound by the terms of the Agreement between Great Britain and Japan dated the 10th and 12th November, 1919.1 4. The following Clauses apply only to ex-German tonnage. 5. The ex-German tonnage at present managed by France of each class to be divided into three groups: (a.) Vessels to be retained by France, which would represent in each class France's share under the Wilson-Lloyd George Agreement on the above basis. (b.) Vessels to be sold by Great Britain to France. (c.) Vessels to be given up by France. The tonnage in (b) to be 150,000 gross tonnage, provided that the share of French-managed tonnage falling to Great Britain under the distribution adopted by the Reparation Commission amounts to that amount. The classification of the vessels as between groups (a), (b) and (c) to be arrived at by a Joint Committee as soon as possible on the basis of an equal quality in each of the three groups. 6. Great Britain undertakes to sell to France the vessels referred to in 5 (b) above at the price at which they shall be debited to her in the reparation account. Payment for the ships so sold by Great Britain to France shall, subject to the consent of the Reparation Commission, be made by transfer of entries in the reparation account, provided always that if it should prove that Great Britain has actually to make a cash payment to the Reparation Commission, France will (subject to an extension of credit over the maximum period for which credit may be allowed by the Reparation Commission to the British Government) provide such cash payments or pay in cash to Great Britain the price of the ships, whichever shall be less, and provided further that, in the event of the Reparation Commission refusing their consent to payment being made by transfer of entries, France will pay for the ships in sterling out of the first cash proceeds obtained by her from the reparation account or within three years from the date of transfer, whichever is the earlier date (always subject to the proviso as to the extension of credit referred to above). It is also understood that by transfer of entries in the reparation account is meant a transfer of net credit in the reparation account to the amount of the value of the ships. 7. France undertakes that her representatives on the Reparation Commission shall only pick ready ships for final allocation to France out of those which are at present under French management and are included in category (a) of § 5. It is, however, recognised that it may not be possible to prevent other countries picking ships included in category (a) of $5, and, in the event of such ships being picked, it will be open to the French Government to pick corresponding ships from (b) or (c) to replace such ships in category (a) of § 5. Great Britain, when picking her share of the ships, undertakes not to exercise any preference against Frenchmanaged ships in categories (b) and (c) of that paragraph. 8. Dates for the delivery to Great Britain of the ships falling in categories (b) and (c) to be fixed forthwith by agreement ship by ship, on the basis that France shall be required to deliver such ships as soon as possible after the 15th June and at latest by the 31st October, 1920. Vessels falling under (b) shall be regarded as having been immediately re-delivered to France under the sale agreement in § 6 above. All vessels under (c) to be delivered in a British bunkering port, in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. 9. Before delivering the vessels referred to in § 5 (b) and (c), France undertakes to restore them in all respects to the same condition (fair wear and tear only excepted) in which they were when, following on the survey by Lloyd's and the Norske Veritas, they were pronounced to be in good repair and ready for service. In the event of the reconditioning not being performed before the delivery of the vessel to the British Government, France agrees to accept liability for the cost of such reconditioning and for the hire of the vessels at the appropriate rate as stated in § 10 below for the period so occupied. 10. From the date of delivery of each vessel's last relief cargo in the case of cargo vessels, and from the date of the coming into force of the Peace Treaty in the case of passenger vessels, up to the date on which the vessel is definitely delivered to Great Britain, hire for the use of the ships referred to in § 5 (b) and (c) of this Agreement which are picked by Great Britain shall be paid by France to Great Britain at the following net rates: For passenger vessels: 32s. 6d. per gross ton per month if vessels were less than ten years old on the 10th January, 1920; or 278. 6d. per gross ton per month if vessels were more than ten years old on the 10th January, 1920. For cargo vessels : 188. 9d. per dead-weight ton per month. For tankers: Such rate as may be payable to the Reparation Commission by the managing country. For sailing-vessels: 58. per dead-weight ton per month. In the case of cargo vessels up to the 10th January, 1920, the net rate of hire payable by France to Germany shall be deducted from the above-mentioned rates. Payment of this hire and reconditioning expenses shall be made by transfer of entries in the reparation account, provided always that (1.) If it should prove that Great Britain has actually to make a cash payment to the Reparation Commission, France will (subject to an extension of credit over the maximum period for which credit may be allowed by the Reparation Commission to the British Government) provide such cash payment or pay in cash to Great Britain the amount of the hire and reconditioning expenses here referred to, whichever shall be the less; and (2.) If it should prove that the British Government is to pay in cash for the hire and reconditioning expenses of vessels at present under British management which may be allotted for final ownership to some other country, France will pay in cash such an amount as Great Britain may be called upon to pay. Great Britain undertakes to endeavour to arrange with the countries to which the vessels at present under her management may be allotted for final ownership that they shall accept hire and reconditioning expenses in the form of a similar credit in the reparation account. 11. France agrees that no further vessels shall be allocated to her for temporary management. 12. When the selection of ships under § 5 has been made, Great Britain undertakes to exchange for certain of the vessels selected by France an equivalent tonnage of first-class passenger ships, the quantity so exchanged not to exceed 26,000 gross tonnage, subject to the appropriate adjustments as in 6 above. J. P. MACLAY, Subject to approval of British Cabinet. Sous réserve de l'approbation du (No. 1.)-Sir Joseph Maclay to M. Bignon. Ministry of Shipping, April 20, 1920. Dear Monsieur Bignon, I AM sending you officially a revised draft of the Agreement about ex-enemy tonnage to take the place of the draft which was handed to Captain Chéron on the 27th March. I should explain that, as has been intimated verbally, an alteration. has been made in Clause 6, which relates to the method of payment. You will remember that, as originally drafted, this Clause provided for the sale of the steamers by Great Britain to individual French shipowners. The alteration now made is not to be taken as implying any reluctance on the part of Great Britain to sell the steamers in that manner nor any desire to interfere with the policy of the French Government vis-à-vis French shipowners. The alteration has been made solely for reasons of a financial nature based on a desire to avoid increasing the burden on France of the present unfavourable rate of exchange. With this exception relating to the method of payment, the Agreement remains unaltered J. P. MACLAY. (No. 2.)—Sir Joseph Maclay to M. Bignon. Dear Monsieur Bignon, Ministry of Shipping, April 22, 1920. IN handing you the accompanying copy of the Agreement we have just signed about ex-enemy ships, I desire to make the following observations: 1. With reference to § 8 of the Agreement, it is our desire that the representatives of the two countries who settle the dates of the delivery of the ex-German vessels should so arrange matters that so far as it is practicable the delivery of the ex-German tonnage by France will coincide with the delivery to France of tonnage under the Maclay-Clémentel Agreement. 2. During the negotiations preceding this agreement reference was made to the proposed purchase by France of ex-enemy ships detained in Brazilian ports, and the question was asked whether Great Britain would raise any objection to this purchase. No objection would be raised to the purchase of these ships by France, subject to the consent of the Reparation Commission. No. II. J. P. MACLAY. Agreement between Great Britain and France with regard to the ultimate Disposal of Ex-Enemy Tonnage. December 14, 1920. In order to arrange for the whole of the enemy tonnage at present under French management to be allotted or transferred to France for final ownership 1. Great Britain and France agree that the vessels listed in Schedule (A) shall be allotted to France for final ownership to meet in full France's claim to Zone 1 of enemy tonnage as determined by the Reparation Commission. 2. Great Britain and France agree that the vessels listed in Schedule (B) shall be allotted by the Reparation Commission to Great Britain for final ownership and shall thereupon be transferred to France. 3. This transfer shall be made in strict accordance with § 6 of the Inter-Allied Percentage Agreement of Spa, dated the 16th July, 1920, except that the amount to be deducted in this respect from the first percentage payment to France and added to the first percentage payment to Britain shall be one-half only of the total amount of hire and interest on that hire which would ordinarily be payable. 4. France agrees that in so far as the tonnage allotted to + Page 550. * Signed also in the French language. |