Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 5, 1898

Mr. Draper to Mr. Sherman.

Embassy of the United States,
Rome, Italy, January 19, 1898.

No. 106.]

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your instruction, No. 97, of the 3d instant, in which you inclose a copy of a letter from the Secretary of Agriculture, stating that the consular visé is still required for certificates accompanying meat exports from the United States to Italy; and you add that it is hoped that the Italian minister of commerce has fulfilled his promise to modify this decree by the close of the year 1897. In reply, I have now to say:

As mentioned in my No. 97, of the 27th of December, 1897, the promise of the minister for foreign affairs, in behalf of the minister of commerce, to modify the royal decree requiring the consular visé referred to, was given on the 26th of November last. The resignation of the di Rudini Government and the formation of a new cabinet under the same chief occupied the first two weeks of December—from the 3d to the 14th—as stated in my dispatch, No. 85, of the 15th of that month. Among the changes which resulted was the appointment of a new minister of agriculture and commerce—the Hon. Sig. Cocco-Ortu; and I was not surprised that, in view of the excitement and delay incidental to the crisis on January 1, 1898, I had not learned from the minister for foreign affairs that the promised modification of the consular-visé regulation had been ordered before the close of the year 1897.

On January 6, however, I called upon the minister for foreign affairs, and expressed regret that the promise of the minister of commerce had not been fulfilled. He pleaded the delay and disarrangement of public business incident to the formation of a new government, but promised to see to it that the modification was immediately ordered. Not hearing from him, on January 12 I wrote to the minister for foreign affairs, referring to our conversation of the 6th instant, in the course of which he had assured me that this matter should certainly be attended to. I inclose a copy of my note.

Since then the minister for foreign affairs has been away from his office on account of the illness of his second son, who died day before yesterday. However, as nothing had been heard from his ministry on the subject of the promised modification despite the conversation of the 6th of January and my note of the 12th, and having, meantime, received your instruction No. 97, of the 3d instant, I called yesterday upon Signor Malvano, the secretary-general of the ministry for foreign affairs, and explained to him the urgency of the situation. He promised his immediate attention, and said he would communicate at once with the minister of agriculture and commerce.

I have just received, this afternoon, a note from Signor Malvano, in which he states that the delay now is only a matter of a few days, and inclosing a copy of a memorandum from the ministry of agriculture and commerce which reiterates that the delay attending the modificacation of the consular regulation will now be brief. I send you herewith, for your more complete information, a copy (with translation) of the memorandum from the ministry of agriculture and commerce.

I am, etc.,

William F. Draper.

[Inclosure 1 in No. 106.]

Mr. Draper to the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Embassy of the United States,
Rome, January 12, 1898.

Your Excellency: Referring to your esteemed note of November 26 last, informing me that, according to assurances received by you from the royal ministry of commerce, article 3 of the royal decree of January 26, 1897, would be, without fail, modified in order to abolish the obligation of the consular visé upon the certificates of meats exported to Italy from the United States, and that this promised modification would be made, doubtless, before the end of the year 1897; and recurring also to our conversation on this subject on Thursday last, January 6, when I had the honor of a few moments’ interview with your excellency; I now venture to bring the wishes of my Government once more before you, and to say that a strong desire is felt at Washington that the promised modification of the royal decree may soon be announced.

I avail myself, etc.,

William F. Draper.

[Inclosure 2 in No. 106—Translation.]

Memorandum from the ministry of agriculture and commerce.

The provision mentioned in the telegram of yesterday relating to the certification of sanitary certificates of origin, delivered by the United States authorities for the importation into Italy of meats, has not been put into effect for the reason that it is complicated with other modifications of the circular of January 26, 1897, in the matter of prohibitions and ordinances regarding importations of animals, of their products, and of remnants of animals, When these modifications are condensed (codified?) there will be issued, in a short time, a single circular which will from now on, regulate the matter. The delay will only be of a few days.

For the minister:

Siemoni.

Rome, January 19, 1898.