710.1012 Washington/99
The Ambassador in Brazil (Morgan) to the Secretary of State
[Received July 26.]
Sir: Referring to the correspondence between the Department and this Mission, beginning with instruction No. 1364, of April 14 last, and in amplification of Embassy’s telegram No. 28, of July 5, 3 P.M.11
I have the honor to enclose, in Portuguese and English, copies of the note which the Brazilian Minister for Foreign Affairs addressed to this office on July 3.12
In accepting the invitation to be represented at the Conference on Conciliation and Arbitration which is called to convene in the city of Washington on December 10 next, the Brazilian Government states that two lawyers versed in international law, with plenipotentiary powers, will be accredited as its representatives.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In regard to Brazil’s attitude relative to the arbitration of judicial matters, a personal note which the Minister addressed to me on July 2 states:13
“Article 34 of the Constitution of the Republic establishes, among the exclusive powers of the National Congress, that under No. 11, [Page 641] which is couched in the following terms: ‘to authorize the Government to declare war, if recourse to arbitration does not occur or collapses, and to declare peace’.
“Brazil, therefore, as regards arbitration, is already bound by a constitutional provision. She will be able to adopt, therefore, in order to duly observe them, the most complete or the most ample forms which may be proposed thereon. She is ready, nevertheless, to yield, should it become necessary to do so, to intermediate solutions which may result in congregating without constraint, in complete fraternity, so advisable in the spirit of Pan American meetings, the States of the continent.”
I have [etc.]