File No. 882.51/653.
Chargé Bundy to the Secretary of State.
Monrovia, July 13, 1915.
Sir: In My No. 95 of May 11, 1915, I had the honor to report somewhat at length concerning financial conditions in Liberia. * * *
I now have much satisfaction in informing the Department that the General Receiver has advised me that since the date of the above report interest payments have been made as follows:
February interest paid May 14, 1915; March interest paid May 24, 1915; April and May interest paid June 18, 1915 (by cable); June interest paid July 7, 1915. At this time, therefore, there are no arrears of interest and I am informed that the outlook is sufficiently favorable to warrant the anticipation that interest for July and perhaps August will be met promptly as it falls due.
The Receivership has not been able to give the Government anything on account of residue, but the General Receiver is of the opinion that the emergency tax levied on all imports should have put into the Treasury on an average of approximately $4,000 per month for the past three months. From these facts it can be gleaned, therefore, that present financial conditions in the Republic, while still far from what is desirable, are very much better than they were three or four months ago. Accordingly more hopeful views are held both by the Government and the Receivership concerning the finances of the country in the immediate future.
I have [etc.]