President of the United States shall receive satisfactory evidence that the Republic of Cuba has made provision to give full effect to the Articles of the convention between the United States and the Republic of Cuba, signed on the eleventh day of December, in the year nineteen hundred and two, he is hereby authorized to issue his proclamation declaring that he has received such evidence, and thereupon on the tenth day after exchange of ratifications of such convention between the United States and the Republic of Cuba, and so long as the said convention shall remain in force, all articles of merchandise being the product of the soil or industry of the Republic of Cuba, which are now imported into United States free of duty, shall continue to be so admitted free of duty, and all other articles of merchandise being the product of the soil or industry of the Republic of Cuba imported into the United States shall be admitted at a reduction of twenty per centum of the rates of duty thereon, as provided by the tariff Act of the United States, approved July twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, or as may be provided by any tariff law of the United States subsequently enacted. The rates of duty herein granted by the United States to the Republic of Cuba are and shall continue during the term of said convention preferential in respect to all like imports from other countries: Provided, That while said convention is in force no sugar imported from the Republic of Cuba, and being the product of the soil or industry of the Republic of Cuba, shall be admitted into the United States at a reduction of duty greater than twenty per centum of the rates of duty thereon, as provided by the tariff Act of the United States, approved July twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven, and no sugar the product of any other foreign country shall be admitted by treaty or convention into the United States while this convention is in force at a lower rate of duty than that provided by the tariff Act of the United States approved July twenty-fourth, eighteen hundred and ninety-seven: And provided further, That nothing herein contained shall be held or construed as an admission on the part of the House of Representatives that customs duties can be changed otherwise than by an Act Congress, originating in said House. "SEC. 2. That so long as said convention shall remain in force, the laws and regulations adopted, or that may be adopted by the United States to protect the revenues and prevent fraud in the declarations and proofs, that the articles of merchandise to which said convention may apply are the product or manufacture of the Republic of Cuba, shall not impose any additional charge or fees therefor on the articles imported, excepting the consular fees established, or which may be established, by the United States for issuing shipping documents, which fees shall not be higher than those charged on the shipments of similar merchandise from any other nation whatsoever; that articles of the Republic of Cuba shall receive, on their importation into the ports of the United States, treatment equal to that which similar articles of the United States shall receive on their importation into the ports of the Republic of Cuba; that any tax or charge that may be imposed by the national or local authorities of the United States upon the articles of merchandise of the Republic of Cuba, embraced in the provisions of said convention, subsequent to importation and prior to their entering into consumption into the United States, shall be imposed and collected without discrimination upon like articles whencesoever imported." And whereas satisfactory evidence has been received by the President of the United States that the Republic of Cuba has made provision to give full effect to the articles of the said convention; Now, therefore, be it known that I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, in conformity with the said Act of Congress, do hereby declare and proclaim the said Convention, as amended by the Senate of the United States, to be in effect on the tenth day from the date of this my proclamation. Wherefore I have caused the said Convention, as amended by the Senate of the United States, to be made public to the end that the same and every clause thereof, as amended, may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States and the citizens thereof. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this 17th day of December in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and three and [SEAL] of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-eighth. By the President: JOHN HAY Secretary of State. THEODORE ROOSEVELT The Secretary of State is officially advised by a note from the minister of Cuba at Washington, dated December 18, 1903, that by proclamation of the President of Cuba on December 17, 1903, the reciprocal commercial convention between the United States and Cuba, signed December 11, 1902, is to go into effect in Cuba on the same day as in the United States. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, December 23, 1903. SUPPLEMENTARY CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CUBA EXTENDING THE TIME WITHIN WHICH MAY BE EXCHANGED THE RATIFICATIONS OF THE COMMERCIAL CONVENTION SIGNED ON DECEMBER 11, 1902. Signed at Washington, January 26, 1903. Ratification advised by the Senate, February 16, 1903. Ratified by the President, March 30, 1903. Ratified by Cuba, March 30, 1903. Ratifications exchanged at Washington, March 31, 1903. Proclaimed, December 17, 1903. BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. A PROCLAMATION. Whereas a Supplementary Convention between the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, extending the time within which may be exchanged the ratifications of the Commercial Convention signed at Habana, December 11, 1902, was concluded and signed by their respective Plenipotentiaries at Washington, on the twenty-sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and three, the original of which Supplementary Convention, being in the English and Spanish languages is, word for word as follows: The President of the United States of America and the President of the Republic of Cuba considering it expedient to prolong the period within which, by Article XI of the Commercial Convention, signed by their respective plenipotentiaries at Habana on December 11, 1902, the exchange of ratifications of the said Convention shall take place, have for that purpose appointed their respective Plenipotentiaries, namely: The President of the United States of America, John Hay, Secretary of State of the United States of America; and The President of Cuba, Gonzalo de Quesada, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to the United States; Who, after having communicated each to the other their respective full powers which were found to be in good and due form, have agreed upon the following additional and amendatory article to be taken as a part of said Convention: SOLE ARTICLE. The respective ratifications of the said Convention shall be exchanged as soon as possible, and within two months from January 31, 1903. Done in duplicate at Washington this twenty-sixth day of January A. D. 1903. JOHN HAY And whereas the said Supplementary Convention has been duly ratified on both parts, and the ratifications of the two governments were exchanged in the City of Washington, on the thirty-first day of March, one thousand nine hundred and three: Now, therefore, be it known that I, Theodore Roosevelt, President of the United States of America, have caused the said Supplementary Convention to be made public, to the end that the sole article thereof may be observed and fulfilled with good faith by the United States and the citizens thereof. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States of America to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this seventeenth day of [SEAL] December, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and three, and of the Independence of the United States the one hundred and twenty-eighth. THEODORE ROOSEVELT By the President: JOHN HAY Secretary of State. No. 295.] DENMARK. VISIT OF THE GERMAN EMPEROR TO DENMARK. Mr. Swenson to Mr. Hay. LEGATION OF THE UNITED STATES, SIR: I inclose herewith clippings from Berlingske Tidende and the London Times, commenting on the German Emperor's approaching visit to the Danish court. His Majesty the German Emperor, who desires to convey his felicitations in person on the occasion of our King's eighty-fifth birthday anniversary, April 8, will, in view of the fact that this date occurs during Holy Week, arrive at the court April 2, 5 o'clock in the afternoon. During his stay, which is expected to last till April 4, the Emperor will occupy quarters in Christian VII palace. It will afford the Danish Government and the Danish people sincere satisfaction to extend a hearty welcome to the exalted monarch of our mighty neighboring Empire, whose sympathy and affection for our aged King finds expression in the proposed visit. We cherish the confident hope that His Majesty the Emperor will have an opportunity through this visit to convince himself that the Danish people have appreciated the splendid reception accorded our crown prince on all sides, when his royal highness visited Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress at Potsdam last fall. [Inclosure 2.] [Clipping from London Times of March 10, 1903.] The Emperor William and Denmark. [From our correspondent.] COPENHAGEN, March 8. It has, for a long time, been rumored that the Emperor William would come to Copenhagen in order to congratulate the venerable King Christian on the occasion of his eighty-fifth birthday on April 8. It is now officially reported that the Emperor is to arrive on April 2, but that he will not stay until the 8th of that month, because the latter date is in Holy Week. Some months ago the Danish crown prince went to Berlin-a visit which created some sensation in view of the somewhat strained relations which still existed between Denmark and Germany on the question of North Schleswig. The Danish crown prince was received in Germany with great honor and regard by the always chivalrous Emperor, and the visit created an agreeable impression in Denmark. Here it was considered good policy on the part of the heir to the throne to cultivate better political relations with the powerful German Empire, with which Denmark has an annual trade equal to that with Great Britain, each of them amounting roundly to one-third of all Danish trade with foreign countries. The Emperor, therefore, has had a double reason for making the short journey to the sound. Most likely, however, there are reasons above and beyond these. To the English public the North Schleswig question might possibly appear a petty one. In Scandinavian countries it is, however, not forgotten that 200,000 Danes are living south of the Danish frontier, and that German officials by repressive and coercive methods persecute the Danish language in Danish-speaking districts, particularly in the schools, even though certain events of the last few months seem to point rather toward conciliation. According to the Austro-Prussian peace of 1866 North Schleswig was to be given back to Denmark if the inhabitants voted for that course. Prussia took no serious step to fulfill this treaty, and when King Christian's youngest daughter, Princes Thyra, in 1878 married the legitimate, but by Prussia unacknowledged, heir to the Kingdom of Hanover, the Duke of Cumberland, that ominous paragraph 5 in the convention was extinguished by a new convention. The Duke and Duchess of Cumberland are now here, and the general opinion was that they would stay till after April 8. A topic of the date is the question, Will they stay or leave? The Danish court was officially informed on March 1 that the Kaiser would like to pay a visit, and on Friday last His Imperial Majesty, having received King Christian's invitation, fixed April 2 as the date of his arrival. The Emperor once before, immediately after his accession to the throne, visited Copenhagen. That is about fifteen years ago now. When he drove through the streets on that occasion some hooting was heard. Since that day he has grown in public opinion and esteem. He may be sure of a respectful, possibly a hearty, reception. [Inclosure 3.] [Clipping from London Times of March 12, 1903.] The Duke of Cumberland, [From our correspondent.] COPENHAGEN, March 10. The Danish newspapers publish only brief comments on the announcement of the Emperor William's intended visit to Copenhagen. This reserve may be connected with the presence of the Duke of Cumberland at the Danish court, where he intended, as usual, to stay till after King Christian's birthday, on April 8. It is confidently reported to-day that the duke and duchess and both their daughters are inclined to leave shortly, though his royal highness, out of respect for the Danish court, will feel bound to avoid anything which might be disagreeable to the German Emperor during the latter's visit here. Everything goes to show that the Emperor has not taken any effective steps toward a conciliation with the duke; otherwise, some evidence of the fact would certainly have become public by this time. The duke's political adviser, Herr von der Wense, arrived here last night and had a long conference to-day with his royal highness, the result of which is not yet known. A telegram received here to-day states that the duke's youngest son, Prince Ernest Augustus, is lying ill with measles at Gmünden. MARCH 11. The question whether the Duke and Duchess of Cumberland would stay here during the Emperor William's visit is now answered by the official announcement that, in consequence of the illness of Prince Ernest Augustus, their royal highnesses, with their two daughters, will leave during the next few days, certainly not later than Monday next. This decision has caused some sensation in court and political circles here. Without commenting at length on the subject I may remark that the official communication would have probably been framed in different terms if the Emperor William had sought a more direct means of approaching the Duke of Cumberland instead of simply announcing that he would pay a visit to the Danish court at a time when he must know or presume that the duke would be in Copenhagen. The Emperor himself is assured of a good reception here, since, notwithstanding the ever present North Schleswig question, public opinion is very favorable to him personally as a man of will and ideas. |