Sechs Hefte bilden einen Band. DAS STAATSARCHIV OFFIZIELLEN AKTENSTÜCKE In Berlin bei F. Schneider & Co. In Wien bei Gerold & Co. In London bei handlung. In Brüssel in C. Muquardts Hofbuch- In St. Petersburg bei K. L. Ricker. Preis des Heftes 1 Mark 40 Pf. Handelsfragen zwischen Grofsbritannien einerseits und Nr. 12997. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Der Gesandte in Brüssel an den Minister des Ausw. Die belgische Regierung betrachtet den kanadischen Tarif als vertrags widrig. Brussels, May 9, 1897. (May 10.) My Lord, M. De Favereau spoke to me yesterday of the complaint which has been made by the Belgian Consul-General in Canada against the exclusion of Belgium from certain Tariff advantages which the Canadian Government wish to extend only to Great Britain. || His Excellency said that the action of the Canadian Government was in direct contradiction with the rights secured to Belgium by Article XV of the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation of the 23rd July, 1862. || I said that I had no authority to discuss the matter. The Belgian Minister in London was the proper channel for making the views of the Belgian Government known to Her Majesty's Government. || His Excellency said he was only waiting for the written Report of their Consul-General to send instructions to Baron Whettnall to lay the matter before your Lordship. As yet the Belgian Foreign Department bad only telegraphic information of what had happened. F. R. Plunkett. Nr. 12998. GROSSBRITANNIEN. - Der Botschafter in Berlin an den Minister des Ausw. Die deutsche Regierung protestiert gegen den kanadischen Tarif. Berlin, May 14, 1897. (May 17.) My Lord, In the course of conversation this afternoon Baron von Marschall informed me that he had telegraphed to Count Hatzfeldt *) Blaubuch Cd. 1630. Die eingeklammerten Daten geben das Datum des Empfangs. Red. Staatsarchiv LXIX. 1 to make a representation to your Lordship on the subject of the resolutions recently submitted to the Canadian Legislature to grant preferential treatment to the products of the United Kingdom. His Excellency said that Article VII of the Treaty of Commerce, which he read to me, was so explicit that he did not understand how any question could arise as to the right of Germany to claim any preferential treatment which might be accorded to Great Britain. || Baron von Marschall said that his reason for mentioning this subject to me was that he was convinced that the desire for the maintenance of good relations between the two countries which your Lordship had instructed me to express on my return to Berlin included commercial as well as political relations, and he would be grateful to me if I would draw your Lordship's attention to the great importance which the German Government attached to the question. || I replied that I would, of course, comply with his Excellency's request and that as far as I understood the matter, the Canadian Government were anxious that the conditions of the Treaty, which had been applied to them without their consent, should be abrogated. In our more recent Commercial Treaties it had been usual to insert a clause that the selfgoverning Colonies should come under their operation only if they expressed the desire to do so. || Baron von Marschall said that the Treaty of 1865 had been concluded with Her Majesty's Government, and it was to them that Germany must look for its due execution, and, moreover, Her Majesty's Government had the right of overruling Canadian legislation. To this I replied that it could not be doubted that the Treaty would be scrupulously observed as long as it existed, but that it was in the power of either of the Contracting Parties to denounce it by giving a year's notice, and I understood from the newspapers that the Canadian Government were anxious that this should be done. || His Excellency observed that it was easier to denounce a Treaty than to conclude a new one, to which I fully agreed, more especially in the case of Great Britain, who, in consequence of the Free Trade system, had few concessions to offer. In conclusion, Baron von Marschall repeated that he had mereley mentioned the subject to me in order to impress upon me the importance which the German Government attributed to the action of the Canadian Legislature. Frank C. Lascelles. Nr. 12999. DEUTSCHES REICH. Der Botschafter in London an den englischen Minister des Ausw. Fordert, daß Großbritannien die Verletzung des Handelsvertrags durch Kanada verhindert. German Embassy, London, May 14, 1897. (May 17.) (Translation.) || My Lord, || It has come to the knowledge of the Imperial Government that the Canadian Government have decided that from the 25th of last month German goods were to be treated differentially as against British goods on entering Canadian territory, a deduction of duty of one-eighth being granted in the case of British goods, while this advantage is denied to importers of German goods. || I have the honour to inform your Excellency, in accordance with instructions received, that, in the opinion of the Imperial Government, there can be no doubt that this measure is a contravention of the clear terms of Article VII of the Treaty between the Zollverein and Great Britain of the 30th May, 1865, by which we are expressly granted in the British Colonies a footing of equality for our products with those of the mother country. Under these circumstances I have to request your Excellency, in the name of my Government, to be so good as to cause steps to be taken by Her Majesty's Government to put an end to the violation of the Treaty involved in the action of the Canadian Government. || Trusting that your Excellency will inform me of the decision taken by Her Majesty's Government in the matter, I have, &c. P. Hatzfeldt. Nr. 13000. GROSSBRITANNIEN. Der Minister des Ausw. an den deutschen Botschafter. Er kann noch keine definitive Antwort geben. Foreign Office, June 4, 1897. Your Excellency,*) || In further reply to your Excellency's note of the 14th ultimo respecting the new Canadian Tariff arrangement, I have the honour to inform you that Her Majesty's Government are in communication with the Dominion Government on the subject, and pending the receipt of further information which has been called for, and is shortly expected, I am not in a position to give a definite answer to the complaint of the German Government. Salisbury. *) Am 20. Mai hatte Salisbury dem Botschafter den Empfang von Nr. 12999 angezeigt. Red. |