838.51/2837a
The Secretary of State to
the Minister in Haiti (Armour)
No. 171
Washington, May 23, 1934.
Sir: There is transmitted herewith the
President’s authorization76 empowering you to negotiate, conclude and sign the
proposed Treaty of Relations between the United States and the Republic
of Haiti, transmitted in the Department’s telegraphic instruction No. 28
of May 15, 1934, as modified by the Department’s telegraphic
instructions No. 32 of May 21, 1934, and No. 33, May 22, 6 p.m.
[Page 362]
Upon the enactment of the law of sanctions governing the sale of the bank
and the receipt of letters “A” and “B” from the Haitian Government,
drafts of which were enclosed with your letter of May 10, 1934, to Mr.
Wilson, with the modifications in letter “A” set forth in the
Department’s telegraphic instructions Nos. 28 of May 15 and 32 of May
21, 1934, you may transmit the attached replies to the Haitian
Government and immediately thereafter sign the treaty.
Very truly yours,
For the Secretary of State:
Sumner
Welles
[Enclosure 1]
Draft Reply to Letter “A” From the Haitian
Government
Excellency: Acting under instructions of my
Government, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your
Excellency’s note No. …, dated . . . . . . ., stating that Your
Excellency’s Government, with a view to concluding with the
Government of the United States a treaty abrogating the treaty of
September 16, 1915, and the agreements made thereunder, has
determined to maintain the organization of the National Bank of the
Republic of Haiti, as set forth in the contract of sale of this
bank, which contract was sanctioned by the Haitian Chambers by law
of May, 1934, and to entrust to this bank all the powers necessary
to assure the service of the loan and to change nothing either in
the organization of the bank or in the powers granted to it, until
such time as the bonds of the 1922 Haitian loan shall have been
completely amortized or refunded.
Specifically, Your Excellency’s note under acknowledgment sets forth:
“(a) The Bank shall be directed by a
Board of Directors of six members named by the President of
the Republic of Haiti. Of these six members, two, one of
whom shall be the Secretary of State for Finance, shall be
named directly by the President of Haiti. Two shall be
chosen from a list of five names presented by the Fiscal
Agency of record of the Series A, and two from a list of
five names presented by the Foreign Bondholders Protective
Council, Incorporated.
“(b) The Bank, as the sole depository
of all of the funds whatsoever of the Government of Haiti,
shall have the power and the duty to receive all of the
receipts of the Government and all payments made in favor
thereof, to set aside in preference to any other
expenditure, the sums necessary for the service of the 1922
Haitian loan and, as the duly constituted Agent of the
Government, to make all the payments required by the loan
contracts.
“On the First of October, 1934, the Bank shall take from the
funds of the Government the sum necessary for the service of
the month of October, and in the course of this same month
of October, it shall set aside, in preference to any other
levy, the amounts required for
[Page 363]
the service of the month of November
and so on, the service of any month whatever being assured
by the levies made during the preceding month.
“For the service of the treasury and for all the
administrative services that it may render with a view to
assuring the complete protection of the interests of the
holders of the loan, the Bank shall levy two per cent on all
the gross receipts of the Government.
“(c) The Government shall give
irrevocable instructions to the Bank, specifying that the
payments for the service of the loan shall enjoy a special
privilege with respect to any other payment to be made from
its funds.
“(d) On October 1, 1934, a service
shall be established in the National Bank of the Republic of
Haiti, chargéd with the examination of the bordereaux issued by the various customs houses of
the Republic and by the Service des Contributions. The Board
of Directors of the Bank, within thirty days of the issuance
of any customs bordereaux or internal
revenue bordereaux shall have the
right to request the issuance of a supplementary bordereaux by the Haitian Director
General of Customs, who, in order to facilitate the
application of the measures contemplated in this paragraph,
shall have jurisdiction over the Administration Générale des
Contributions. In case of disagreement between the Board of
Directors of the Bank and the Director General of Customs,
the matter shall be adjusted by the Secretary of State for
Finance.
“Every facility shall be afforded to the Board of Directors
of the Bank to ascertain directly or by its qualified
representative whether the customs laws, the customs
regulations and the fiscal laws in general are strictly
applied, in order to make a report thereof to the Secretary
of State for Finance.”
In view of the added assurance of Your Excellency’s Government that
the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti, with the organization
and powers set forth above, will adequately ensure the service of
the loan of 1922 and protect the interests of the holders of the
bonds, I am further instructed to state that I am authorized to sign
the draft treaty which you were good enough to enclose with the note
under acknowledgment, it being understood that the note under
acknowledgment shall be attached to the treaty so that after
approval by the Haitian National Assembly it shall form an integral
part thereof.
Accept, Excellency, etc., etc.
[Enclosure 2]
Draft Reply to Letter “B” From the Haitian
Government
Excellency: Acting under instructions of my
Government, I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your
Excellency’s note No. …, dated . . . . . ., enclosing a memorandum
setting forth the principal provisions of the fiscal policy which
Your Excellency’s
[Page 364]
Government pledges itself to follow until the complete amortization
or prior refunding of the Haitian loan of 1922.
My Government has taken due note of the content of the memorandum in
question, an English translation of which is attached hereto.
Accept, Excellency, etc., etc.
[Subenclosure]
Memorandum
to be communicated by the Haitian Government to the
Fiscal Agency of Loans A, B, C and to the Foreign Bondholders
Protective Council, specifying the financial policy which the
Haitian Government pledges itself to follow until the Loan of 1922
has been completely amortized or refunded.
I. Budgetary Balance
- (a)
- Not later than January 31 of each fiscal year to request the
Board of Directors of the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti
for a scientific estimate of the receipts for the next fiscal
year.
- (b)
- To maintain the annual budget of expenditures within the
limits of the estimate made.
II. Deficits
To bring the receipts to the level of the expenditures, in case of a
probable deficit, either by the creation of new receipts or by the
reduction of the expenditures to the level of the receipts, or by
both methods at once.
III. Public Debt
Not to increase the public debt except on the occasion of a refunding
operation of the 1922 loan.
IV. Supplementary and
Extraordinary Credits
Not to pass supplementary or extraordinary credits unless there are
funds available to cover them.
V. The Douzième
Not to exceed the monthly douzième except in
case of force majeure, and with the approval
of the Council of Secretaries of State.
VI. Service of Payments
To transfer to the National Bank of the Republic of Haiti the service
of the issue of checks, as now organized. All checks issued shall be
in the name only of the Haitian Government and shall be signed
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by a special employee
designated by the President of Haiti. The Bank shall continue the
publication of the monthly Bulletin and in an appropriate form of
the annual Bulletin now prepared by the services of the Fiscal
Agent; it shall also have the duty of indicating to the Secretary of
State for Finance any error which may be found in orders addressed
to it for payment, or in the vouchers which accompany such
orders.
VII. Haitian Customs Service and
Internal Revenue Service
- (a)
- To organize the customs and internal revenue services
according to rules of recruitment and career so as to insure the
stability of said services and to provide for promotion
according to competence, length of service and quality of work
furnished.
- (b)
- To operate the customs service on two per cent, of the custom
receipts and the internal revenue service on twelve per cent, of
the internal revenue receipts.
- (c)
- To give the Haitian Director General of Customs jurisdiction
over the internal revenue service (Service des
Contributions).
