711.60 h 12Anti-War/11
The Minister in the Kingdom of the Serbs, Groats
and Slovenes (Prince) to the Secretary of State
Belgrade, September 7,
1928.
[Received September 21.]
No. 485
Sir: Referring to the Legation’s telegrams
No. 17, August 30, 11 a.m. and No. 18 of August 30, 7 p.m.,63 I have the
honor to report that in accordance with the Department’s circular
telegram of August 16, 11 p.m., I delivered on August 28th to the
Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Šumenković, the note dated
August 27, 1928, informing the Yugoslav Government that the
multilateral antiwar treaty had been signed at Paris. I had in the
meantime informally acquainted the Minister with the contents of the
note.
This act was given wide publicity and was favorably received by all
sections of the press. The only exception to the general approval of
the Treaty was the construction placed on the Foreign Minister’s
comment by Mr. Pribičević, as reported in Legation’s Despatch No.
486 of September 7, 1928.64
On August 30th, the Acting Foreign Minister handed me the
Government’s formal reply in French, a copy of which is transmitted
herewith (the slight grammatical errors appeared in the
original).
It will be observed from the enclosed translation of the note that
the Government, after referring to its right of self-defense, its
international obligations, and its duties towards the League of
Nations, states that the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
will adhere to the Treaty as soon as the necessary formalities can
be completed.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure—Translation]
The Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of
the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
(Shumenkovitch) to the
American Minister (Prince)
Belgrade, August 30, 1928.
Mr. Minister: Acknowledging the receipt
of your note of the 27th instant in which you were good enough
to inform me formally of the signature of the Renunciation of
War Treaty and to communicate the text of that Treaty for the
consideration and eventual approval of the Serb-Croat-Slovene
Government, I hasten to inform you that the Royal Government has
taken cognizance of this act with a feeling of great
sympathy.
[Page 194]
The formal engagement to renounce war as an instrument of
national policy, which is incorporated in the Treaty,
corresponds entirely to the principles which, according to the
conceptions of the Government of the Kingdom of the Serbs,
Croats and Slovenes ought to govern international relations.
Recognizing the great purport of this solemn declaration which
has already received the signatures of numerous States and which
is destined to receive the adhesion of the enormous majority if
not all of the Powers of the World, the Royal Government desires
to pay respectful homage to the great American Republic and to
the promoters of this new and noble effort to guarantee Peace
and to thank them for the opportunity offered to the Kingdom of
the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to take a part in it.
The Royal Government accordingly entirely approves of the
Renunciation of War Treaty signed in Paris on August 27th, 1928,
and it will not fail to give its formal adhesion to it as soon
as it is in a position to do so under the terms of Article 3 of
the said Treaty.
Besides the text of the Treaty, Your Excellency was good enough
to transmit to me with your letter a white book reproducing the
correspondence exchanged between the Contracting States upon the
occasion of the preparation of the conclusion of the Treaty and
containing the views of those States on the exact sense and
significance of the text of the Treaty.
It is particularly agreeable to me to be in a position to assure
Your Excellency that the Royal Government shares these views.
More particularly, it is in accord with the idea that the
Treaty, while having for its object the maintenance of peace,
does not deprive the contracting parties of the right of
protection against an attack or invasion (it being understood
that it is the competence of the attacked State to decide
whether the circumstances demand the resort to war for its own
protection), as well as that it completely frees the Contracting
States from any party who might violate the Treaty.
The Royal Government also shares the opinion that the Treaty is
regarded as an instrument whose object is to perpetuate the
pacific and friendly relations under the contractual conditions
established to-day and that nothing in this Treaty is intended
to be interpreted contrary to the Covenant of the League of
Nations, the agreements of Locarno or against the Treaties of
Neutrality, or in general against the international obligations
which the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes has thus far
contracted.
I am grateful to you for the indications contained in your note
regarding the procedure to be followed for adherence to the
Treaty,
[Page 195]
which
procedure the Royal Government will not delay in following so as
to carry out immediately its very strong desire to participate
in this act of reinforcing peace.
Accept [etc.]
