expiration of the said period of five years of its intention to terminate the present Treaty, it shall remain in force until the expiration of one year from the date on which either of the two Contracting Parties shall have denounced it. As regards, however, India or any of His Britannic Majesty's self-governing Dominions, colonies, possessions or protectorates or any territory in respect of which a mandate on behalf of the League of Nations has been accepted by His Britannic Majesty to which the stipulations of the present Treaty shall have been made applicable under Articles 31 and 32, either of the two Contracting Parties shall have the right to terminate it separately at any time on giving twelve months' notice to that effect. In witness whereof the respective plenipotentiaries have signed the present Treaty and have affixed thereto their seals. Done at London in duplicate in English and German texts, the 2nd December, 1924. (L.S.) AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN. (L.S.) D'ABERNON. (L.S.) STHAMER. Protocol. 1. The Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed this day being based on the principle of the most favoured nation, both parties to the Treaty undertake to give the widest possible interpretation to that principle. In particular, while retaining their right to take appropriate measures to preserve their own industries, they undertake to abstain from using their respective Customs tariffs or any other charges as a means of discrimination against the trade of the other, and to give sympathetic consideration to any cases that may be brought to their notice in which, whether as a result of the rates of Customs duties or charges themselves or of arbitrary or unreasonable Customs classification any such discrimination can be shown to have arisen. 2. Within the limits of this undertaking each party agrees not to impose, reimpose or prolong any duties or charges which are specially injurious to the other party. Each party further agrees, when modifying its existing Customs tariff and fixing future rates of Customs duty as far as they specially affect the interests of the other party to have due regard to reciprocity and to the development on fair and equitable terms of the commerce of the two countries, the German Government taking into full account the favourable treatment at present accorded to goods the produce or manufacture of Germany on importation into the United Kingdom. The parties will also have regard to the same considerations in applying any special prohibitions or restrictions which may be notified under Article 3 of this Protocol. Should either of the two Contracting Parties be of the opinion that particular rates of Customs duty fixed by the other party are not in accordance with the above undertaking both parties agree to enter immediately into verbal negotiations. 3. Both Contracting Parties agree to remove at the earliest possible opportunity, but not later than six months from the coming into force of the Treaty signed this day, all forms of prohibition or restriction of importation or exportation, except in those special cases mentioned in Article 10 of the Treaty, or in such other special cases as may be notified by either party to the other party before the ratification of the Treaty. 4. His Britannic Majesty's Government undertake (a.) To recommend to Parliament the necessary legislation for the removal of the disabilities imposed by the legislation specified below affecting German citizens and German companies in the United Kingdom which do not extend to the subjects or citizens or companies of the most favoured foreign country, viz.: Non-Ferrous Metal Industries Act, 1918." "Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act, 1919 "() (Section 12). Trading with the Enemy (Amendment) Act, 1918 "(4) (Section 2). (b.) In the administration of The Overseas Trade Acts, 1920 to 1924,” and “The Trade Facilities Acts, 1921 to 1924," not to exclude trade between the United Kingdom and Germany from any benefits to which trade between the United Kingdom and any other foreign country is admitted. 5. The German Government undertake— (a.) That insurance companies constituted in accordance with the laws in force in the United Kingdom shall be admitted to carry on business in all parts of Germany, subject to the provisions of the German Insurance Law, and that the section regulating the admittance of foreign insurance companies will be interpreted in the most liberal way as far as insurance companies of the United Kingdom are concerned. The German Government will also give all necessary facilities compatible with German law for the work carried on by the agents in Germany on behalf of the underwriters of the United Kingdom. (b.) That banking companies constituted in accordance with the laws in force in the United Kingdom shall in the pursuance of their business be subjected only to the general German Law; that new regulations against the flight of (3) Vol. CXII, page 641. (4) Vol. CXI, page 183. capital shall be so framed that the right to open accounts and to receive deposits may be conferred upon foreign banks; and that they will use their influence with the State Governments to secure that United Kingdom banks shall be treated in a liberal way with regard to the permission to open branch offices and the right to deal in exchange, without prejudice to the right of making the grant of such privileges to foreign banks subject to general reservations. 6. In pursuance of the general principle of the mutual accord of national treatment in matters of navigation which is embodied in the Treaty signed this day, both parties agree that in regard to the carriage from their respective territories of emigrants (including transmigrants) and to the establishment of agencies by companies engaged in the business of emigration, the vessels and shipping companies of either party shall be placed, in the territories of the other, on exactly the same footing in every respect as national vessels and national shipping companies. 7. Both parties hereby place on record their intention to adopt (in so far as they have not already done so) the provisions of (1.) The Conventions and Statutes concluded at Barcelona in 1921 respecting freedom of transit (5) and navigable waterways of international concern. (6) (2.) The Conventions and Statutes concluded at Geneva in 1923 respecting customs formalities, (7) maritime ports (8) and railways. (") (3.) The protocol on arbitration clauses drawn up at Geneva in 1923. (1o) 8. It is agreed that the Treaty signed this day shall come into force only after the necessary legislative or administrative measures have been passed by the appropriate authorities in the respective countries. Done at London in duplicate in English and German texts, the 2nd December, 1924. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN. STHAMER. C. v. SCHUBERT. (5) Vol. CXVI, page 517. (6) Vol. CXVI, page 527. (7) Vol. CXVII, page 408. (8) Page 568. (10) Vol. CXVII, page 446. Minutes of a Meeting between British and German Representatives, held at 4 P.M., on the 2nd December, 1924, at the Foreign Office, London, for the purpose of signing a Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain and Germany. Plenipotentiaries present: GREAT BRITAIN. GERMANY. The Right Honourable Austen His Excellency the German Chamberlain, M.P., His Ambassador, Dr. Sthamer. Majesty's Principal Secre tary of State for Foreign Dr. Carl von Schubert, Direc Affairs. The Right Honourable Lord D'Abernon, G.C.M.G., His Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at Berlin. tor in the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs announced that the negotiation of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Great Britain and Germany was now concluded and that the Treaty was ready for signature. The German Ambassador, on behalf of the German delegation, drew attention to the terms of Sir Otto Niemeyer's letter to Herr von Schubert of the 28th November, 1924, and desired that a copy thereof should form an annex to the minutes of this meeting. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs agreed, and stated that the Treaty was signed on either side without reservation and upon the understanding that it would not prejudice in any way rights enjoyed under or in virtue of the Treaty of Versailles. The German Ambassador concurred in this view. The plenipotentiaries (the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Lord D'Abernon for Great Britain, and the German Ambassador and Herr von Schubert for Germany) then proceeded to the signature of the Treaty and of the Protocol attached thereto, and the proceedings terminated. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN. STHAMER. C. v. SCHUBERT. ANNEX. Sir Otto Niemeyer to Herr von Schubert. November 28, 1924. Dear Herr von Schubert, I have now been able to consult the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and am in a position to give to you our reply with regard to the Reparation Recovery Act. In the first place, I can repeat my assurance that we have no desire to retain the Act for its own sake, and that the only object of any stipulations which we may make is to secure that by departing from the procedure under the Act, as it at present exists, the British Government does not lose the share of reparation receipts to which it is entitled. The difficulty which we see in adopting any procedure on the lines of that suggested in the memorandum which you gave to me yesterday, is that the Reparation Recovery Act has a recognised position, and that we must make sure that if we alter the procedure we do not sacrifice the rights which we enjoy in respect of the Act as it stands, in which form the German Government agreed to facilitate its working by reimbursing the amount of the levy to German exporters by Article 9 of the Schedule of Payments and by their acceptance of the Dawes plan. We hold, as I told you, that it was the intention of the Dawes Report that the annuities for the first two years should be received in the form of deliveries in kind and local expenditure of the armies of occupation. The Dawes Report explicitly states that where there is reference to deliveries in kind in the report: "We have intended to include therein payments in Germany arising through the operation of the Reparation Recovery Acts." Before, therefore, we could consider any alternative procedure, it would be necessary to ascertain whether the agent-general, the Transfer Committee and the other Governments which signed the London agreements take the view that the annuities for the first two years must be received in deliveries in kind (including payments under the Reparation Recovery Act), and, if so, whether they would take the view that payments under the system which you propose could, for this purpose, be considered as being payments under the Reparation Recovery Act. As I explained to you, the scheme which you propose would necessarily entail the repeal or suspension of the Reparation Recovery Act, and there is, therefore, clearly great doubt how far payments received under an alternative plan would be accepted by all the parties concerned as being subject to the same conditions as payments under the Act as it now exists. Moreover, under existing inter-Allied agreements our receipts under the Recovery Act are exempt from the charge for Belgian priority and for the United States of America arrears of cost of occupation, and if our position is to be the same under the alternative procedure as under the existing procedure, it would clearly be necessary to obtain an extension of these privileges to our receipts under the new procedure. It appears to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that the first step must necessarily be to ascertain what view of the matter would be taken by the agent-general, the Transfer Committee and other parties concerned. It rests with the German Government to ascertain whether it will be possible to get the consent of the agent-general and the Transfer Committee to a proposal on the lines put forward or on similar lines which would protect the British rights referred to above, and. at the same time, not involve payments by individual merchants. The British Government cannot give any formal assurance, but they are quite ready to use their good offices to secure such a result. As soon as the necessary consents have been obtained, the British Government will enter into negotiations with the German Government with a view to the introduction of the new procedure. I am, &c. [CXIX] O. E. NIEMEYER. |