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and people of Haiti, and to request him to communicate to President Hoover the expression of our gratitude for the change of policy which had been inaugurated in Haiti.68

Because of the excellent relations which exist between us, I communicated to you on the 21 of October promptly upon your return from leave, the project for the establishment of a Fiscal Agency and the abolition of the organization of the Financial Adviser-General Receiver of Customs.

2. Law of Ways and Means:

Article 3. The Government, after studying closely the estimated receipts of the fiscal year 1931-32 had resolved several months ago to restrict itself to a budget of about Gdes. 32,000,000, the reserves to be drawn on if necessary to permit us to reach this figure, and our reductions in the budget to make up the difference between this figure and the amount fixed by the Chambers plus the additional amount requested by the Garde for the maintenance of public security, in order to provide for the balancing of the budget on the basis of a percentage reduction applicable to all public services, in accordance with the formula agreed upon at our conference of October 28.

3. The text of Article 10 does in fact appear not to be in conformity with Article 127 of the Constitution or with the order of relative superiority established thereby.

4. (4) Articles 6 and 11, which provide for the deposit of certain revenues in the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti for the account of the State, in consideration of the Washington transaction of 1916, and the accord relative to the Internal Revenue Service, does not modify the present status quo, pending the conclusion of the conversations which we have begun.

(B) The Regulations concerning the use of revolving funds and reimbursable credits will be issued after communication to the Financial Adviser for his accord and recommendation.

etc.

(C) Article 9 does not refer in any way to collectors of customs,

Article 12 embodies a principle contained in the legislation of the entire world, namely: That neglect of duty and negligence give rise to pecuniary responsibility. The Government, according to the text, is the sole judge of negligence and it concedes voluntarily that the Receiver General and the Director General of Contributions will not be liable to any charge of negligence if they report to the Secretary of State for Finance any cases of non-collection of which they have knowledge. The decision to undertake proceedings will be made

"See note of August 10, 1931, from the Haitian Minister, p. 508.

after amicable examination by the Secretary of State for Finance of the reasons for non-collection; and by the Council of Secretaries of State, if the case involves the general policy of the Government. The Receiver General and the Director General of Contributions will incur no responsibility for failure on the part of the State to bring suit or for delay therein, if they shall have reported the case of noncollection to the Secretary of State for Finance.

(D) Article 7, in its present form, does not change in any way the practice and procedure concerning the correction of errors and the reports to be addressed to the Secretary of State for Finance.

(E) Because of the restrictions effected by means of reductions in salaries in the offices of the Receiver General of Customs and the Director General of Contributions, and the possible reduction in receipts, if there should be any demonstrated difficulty in paying commissions to the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti at the end of the present fiscal year out of the 5% and 15% funds, the Government will consider an extraordinary credit to meet the situation and remedy the omission in the present law of the former provision which protected the Receiver General in this connection.

(F) The observation is correct and the functioning of the offices of the Financial Adviser-General Receiver and the Director General of Contributions already provided for by the treaty under liquidation, the accords, and the law, is to continue as in the past within the maximum limits respectively of 5% and 15%.

(G) Articles 8-11, and 29-34. The provisions enacted may offer some inconvenience but do not really affect any treaty right. Nevertheless, the observations made will be examined later by the Secretary of State for Finance and the Financial Adviser with the object of effecting any changes or interpretations of a practical order.

(H) Although the change effected in the previous text of the old law by Article 15 could legally give rise to the inconveniences indicated, actually, it establishes a maximum delay which the administrative services are not obliged to exhaust, and I do not see any objection to the Receiver General making a request, which will be granted, by the intermediary of the Ministry for Finance, that all changes be brought to his notice within two days.

(I) Article 16, paragraph 12. The observation is correct, but the text, in spite of its general terms, does not prevent the executive from issuing an order of payment in favor of the superior of the order who, in conformity with its regulations is the representative of its members. The Government, in fact, has already recognized in the Convention with the Papacy of June 17, 1862, that the members of religious

09

69

See Hannibal Price, Dictionnaire de Législation Administrative Haitienne, p. 445, par. V.

orders requested by the Republic of Haiti would come "In accordance with the conditions established by their orders".

(J) Article 19. It is not necessary that the law of expenditures specify all the international obligations of the Republic of Haiti; it is sufficient that the budget be in conformity with these obligations.

(K) Article 20, second line. It can easily be arranged that credits shall be opened by the banks established in Haiti with the object of avoiding the alleged disadvantages.

(L) This point is already regulated in the accord of August 5, 1931. Please accept [etc.]

838.51/2363: Telegram

ABEL LÉGER

The Minister in Haiti (Munro) to the Secretary of State

PORT-AU-PRINCE, November 27, 1931—1 p. m. [Received 2:26 p. m.]

138. The Financial Adviser yesterday gave his accord to the budget and the latter is now being published.

MUNRO

838.51/2363: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Minister in Haiti (Munro)

WASHINGTON, November 28, 1931-1 p. m.

90. Your 138, November 27, 1 p. m. Congratulations.

STIMSON

DESIRE OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR AN EARLY WITHDRAWAL FROM HAITI OF THE FORCES OF OCCUPATION

838.00/2953: Telegram

The Minister in Haiti (Munro) to the Secretary of State

PORT-AU-PRINCE, April 28, 1931—1 p. m. [Received 5:22 p. m.]

34. Minister of Foreign Affairs is to appear before Congress Thursday and expects at that time to be questioned regarding the withdrawal of the marines. He asked me to obtain some statement regarding the intentions of the United States Government upon which he can base his reply. I explained to him the impossibility of obtaining a definite statement and urged the advantages of saying simply that the matter would be taken up in due course, but he insisted that he must have

something from Washington to save the Government from the accusation of having shown no interest in the withdrawal of the forces of occupation.

I suggest that I be authorized to tell him that the Government of the United States desires to withdraw the forces of occupation at the earliest moment when it feels that it can properly do so but that it does not consider it practicable at the present time to attempt to fix any definite date or program.

MUNRO

838.00/2953: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Minister in Haiti (Munro)

WASHINGTON, April 29, 1931-2 p. m. 27. Legation's 34, April 28, 1 p. m. You are authorized to inform the Haitian Minister for Foreign Affairs that the Government of the United States desires to withdraw the forces of occupation at the earliest moment when it feels that it can properly do so, but that it does not consider it practicable at the present time to attempt to fix any definite date or program.

STIMSON

BOUNDARY DISPUTE WITH DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

(See volume I, pages 771 ff.)

HEJAZ AND NEJD

RECOGNITION BY THE UNITED STATES OF THE KINGDOM OF THE HEJAZ AND NEJD AND PROPOSAL FOR A COMMERCIAL AGREEMENT1

890f.01/29a

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Dawes)

No. 666

WASHINGTON, February 10, 1931. SIR: For some time the Department has had under consideration the advisability of extending the formal recognition of this Government to the Kingdom of the Hejaz and Nejd and its Dependencies. Upon the receipt of the present instruction it is desired that you take the steps set forth below with a view toward assisting the Department in arriving at a final conclusion in this matter. In order that you may be acquainted with the background of the question, there are enclosed several pertinent documents which you are requested to study carefully. These documents are the following:

(1). Note of September 29, 1928, to the Secretary of State from the Foreign Office at Mecca.2

(2). Department's instruction No. 24 of January 7, 1929, to the American Minister at Cairo.s

(3). Despatch No. 315 of January 11, 1930, from the American Legation at Cairo.

(4). Department's instruction No. 100 of February 28, 1930, to the American Minister at Cairo."

From a perusal of these documents you will observe that the question of the recognition of the Hejaz and Nejd and its Dependencies was first brought to the attention of the Secretary of State by a formal note dated September 29, 1928, from the Acting Director of Foreign Affairs at Mecca. In replying to this communication, through the American Legation at Cairo, the Department directed the Legation, informally and orally, to state that the question of recognition was one to which the Secretary of State found it impracticable to reply at that time, but

For previous correspondence on the subject of diplomatic relations, see Foreign Relations, 1930, vol. 1, pp. 281 ff.

2

Ibid., p. 281.

Ibid.

Not printed.

'Foreign Relations, 1930, vol. III, p. 283.

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