250
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
C.O. 885
6
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
12
preferential arrangements between the various portions of the British Empire are as follows:-
BELGIUM ARTICLE XV.
"Articles the produce or manufactures of Bel- gium shall not be subject in the British Colonies to other or higher duties than those which are or may be imposed upon similar articles of British
origin."
"Les produits d'origine ou de manufacture belge ne seront pas grevés dans les Colonies Britanniques d'autres ou de plus forts droits que ceux qui frap-
pent ou frapperont les produits similaires origi- naires de la Grand
Bretagne."
The English and French texts are both given, as there is a shade of distinction in the translation of
the word " British."
ZOLLVEREIN (German Empire).
ARTICLE VII.
"The stipulations of the preceding Articles I. to VI." (they contain the whole Treaty) "shall also be applied to the Colonies and Foreign Possessions of Her Britannic Majesty. In those Colonies and Possessions the produce of the States of the Zollverein shall not be subject to any higher or other import duties than the produce of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, or of any other country of the like kind; nor shall the exportation from those Colonies or Possessions to the Zollverein be subject to any higher or other duties than the exportation to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland."
39. It is to be observed that any advantages which might be granted by Great Britain to either Belgium or Germany in virtue of these particular stipulations must also be extended to various other countries under the ordinary most-favoured-nation clauses in existing Treaties. If, however, Article XV. of the Belgium Treaty and Article VII. of the Zollverein Treaty were no longer in force, there are no stipu- lations of a similar character in any other Treaty
19
concluded by this country and now in force which could give rise to the same difficulties.
40. The general effect of these stipulations in regard to import duties, as understood by Her Majesty's Government, is stated in the note on page 5 of Lord Jersey's Report as follows:-
1. They do not prevent differential treatment by the United Kingdom in favour of British
Colonies.
2. They do not prevent differential treatment by British Colonies in favour of each other.
3. They do prevent differential treatment by British Colonies in favour of the United
Kingdom.
41. In regard to the first of the foregoing proposi- tions, I may observe that, as will be gathered from what has been said above, the question of admitting Colonial produce into the United Kingdom on more favourable terms than the produce of foreign coun- tries is a question which Her Majesty's Government are not at present prepared to take into considera- tion ; and if, at any future time, it were to come into practical discussion, it could be approached with equal freedom whether the Treaties with Belgium und the Zollverein were in force or not.
42. As regards the second proposition, the opinion formed by Her Majesty's Government as to the interpretation of Article XV. of the Treaty with Belgium is in conformity with an opinion expressed by the Law Officers of the Crown, to the effect that the words "Similar articles of British origin," or in
the French text "produits similaires originaires de "la Grande Bretagne," relate to the produce of the United Kingdom alone.
43. It must, however, be recollected that in the construction of any Treaty the interpretation of one
of the parties alone does not necessarily prevail.
44. In regard to the third proposition, it seems clear that under the terms of Article XV. of the Belgian Treaty, and of Article VII. in the Treaty with the Zollverein, the British Colonies cannot grant to the
Ba
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
1_2_31_41_5161
Reference :-
| COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO