CO129-172 - Public Offices & Others - 1875 — Page 365

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Afterwards, we went on to speak specifically of my note of the 26th ultimo, and of the position of the Commercial Treaty in the National Assembly.

In answer to a remark on the abrupt manner in which the Bill for ratifying that Treaty had been brought into the Assembly, and on the haste with which it was being pushed through that body, the Duke said, with some warmth, that it was really impos- sible to have shown more consideration for England than he had done in the matter; that he had waited nine months solely out of deference to England, and that it was not more than three weeks after he had given me his Memorandum of the 24th May, that he had laid the Bill on the table of the Assembly.

I reminded the Duke that when he had given me that paper, he had said that he hoped that it placed the questions respecting the Treaty upon a ground upon which the British and French Governments might easily come to an understanding; I observed that subsequently I had more than once told him that the paper was under the consideration of the proper Departments of Her Majesty's Government, and I added, that under these circumstances it would have been natural that he should at least have given Her Majesty's Government some warning of his intention to bring the Bill into the Assembly,

In speaking of the differential duties in favour of Saigon, the Duc Decazes dwelt on the smallness of their amount, and on the limited extent of the commerce to which they were to be applied.

I observed that certainly the trade was very small at present, so far as I knew; and I added that, in my opinion, it was not very likely to increase if the Treaty was to be executed in the same exclusive spirit in which it had been made. If, however, France persevered in the policy upon which she had acted on this occasion, and sought for exclusive commercial advantages for herself in her negotiations with the Governments of Eastern Asia, it must, I said, of course, become impossible to maintain in these regions the concert between the civilized nations of Europe and America which had produced such beneficial effects.

The Duc Decazes expressed in the strongest terms the desire and the determination of the French Government to continue to act in China, Japan, and other Eastern countries in entire harmony with Great Britain; and he affirmed very positively that the Annamese Treaties were no indication of a change of policy in this respect.

Finally, the Duc Decazes said that he presumed that his Memorandum had removed the objections of Her Majesty's Government on the questions of the jurisdiction of French Agents over other foreigners in Annam, and the control of those Agents over the commer- cial transactions of foreigners. These objections rested (he affirmed) upon an interpreta- tion of the Treaty entirely different from that put upon it by the French Government. He was quite willing to record and complete in an official note the explanations on these matters, which he had given in his Memorandum, and thus the true interpretation of the Treaty might (he said) be established by an exchange of notes between the two Govern-

I begged the Duke to send me an official note as soon as possible.

ments.

I have, &c.

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(No. 556.) My Lord,

No. 81.

Lord Lyons to the Earl of Derby.-(Received July 7.)

Paris, July 5, 1875. THE Duc Decazes having in some measure recovered from his recent illness, I had an interview with him yesterday.

We had a long and animated conversation respecting the Annam Treaties; but I will not trouble your Lordship with a detailed Report of the often repeated arguments which were used on both sides.

The Duke spoke at some length of the political control over Annam given to France by these Treaties; of the exclusive protection for Roman Catholic Missionaries which they provided; of the jurisdiction over Europeans and control over their commercial transac- tions assigned to French Agents, and of the differential duties established in favour of Saigon. I did not, however, find that anything his Excellency said weakened the force of the objections which had been made on behalf of Her Majesty's Government to the stipulations of the Treaties on these points, and I therefore felt bound to maintain those objections without modification.

No. 82.

Lord Lyons to the Earl of Derby.(Received July 7.)

(No. 557.) My Lord,

IN the "Journal Officiel" of this morning are published the " Exposé des Motifs Paris, July 5, 1875. which accompanied the Bill for the ratification of the Commercial Treaty with Annam; the Bill itself, and the text of the Treaty, I have the honour to inclose copies herewith.

The Exposé des Motifs, which is very short, states little more than that this Treaty is the complement of the Political Treaty, the ratification of which was authorized by the Assembly last August.

The Bill is in the usual form, and authorizes the President of the Republic to ratify and execute the Treaty.

The text of the Treaty is not precisely the same as that which was communicated to me confidentially by the Duc Decazes last year, and transmitted by me to your Lordship with my despatch No. 605 of the 23rd June, 1874.

In the Ilud Article the wording of the clause relative to the importation and exportation of grain is altered, and the duty on exportation is raised from 5 to 10 per cent.