Ambassador Tower to the Secretary of State.
Berlin, March 10, 1905.
Sir: I have the honor to inclose to you herewith three copies of a parliamentary document, No. 543, Reichstag II Legislatur Periode, I Session 1903/1905, with a supplement, containing the text of the treaties of commerce recently negotiated between Germany, on the one part, and Italy, Belgium, Russia, Roumania, Switzerland, Servia, and Austria-Hungary, respectively, on the other part, as well as the text of the veterinary convention recently negotiated between Germany and Austria-Hungary.a
This document contains the text of these treaties in the form in which they were severally submitted by the German Government to the Reichstag for discussion and ratification. The only one of them which has been duly ratified as yet by both contracting parties and promulgated is that between Germany and Russia, of which I have forwarded to the Department three copies in my dispatch No. 613, of the 2d of March, 1905.
I inclose herewith the texts of the other treaties, because while they have not as yet been promulgated they have been duly ratified by the German Reichstag in their present form and are likely to be ratified without change by the several other contracting parties, and in the meantime it will doubtless be of interest to the Department to be in possession of the details of each of these treaties.
The supplement contains the message of the imperial chancellor which accompanied these documents at the time when he submitted the treaties to the Reichstag. It also contains:
- 1.
- A comparison of the texts of the former treaties and of the new treaties with each of the countries, respectively, the text of the former treaty being printed upon one page with that of the new treaty placed opposite to it.
- 2.
- Tables which give in parallel columns a comparative statement of the tariff schedules established between Germany and each of the other countries, respectively, under the existing treaties, the new treaties, and under the ordinary customs tariff in each case.
- 3.
- Tables giving statistics of trade between Germany and each of the other countries during recent years, as well as other tables containing a statement of the general export and import trade of each of those countries.
I have, etc.,