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2. Voluntary Restrictions on State Action

BRITISH AND GERMAN SPHERES OF ACTION IN THE
WESTERN PACIFIC

The Government of Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Government of His Majesty the German Emperor, having resolved to define the limits of the British and German spheres of influence in the Western Pacific;

The undersigned, duly empowered for that purpose, viz:1. Sir Edward Baldwin Malet, Her Britannic Majesty's Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary;

2. Count Herbert Bismark, His Imperial Majesty's UnderSecretary of State for Foreign Affairs;

have agreed, on behalf of their respective Governments, to make the following Declaration:

1. For the purpose of this Declaration the expression "Western Pacific" means that part of the Pacific Ocean lying between the 15th parallel of north latitude and the 30th parallel of south latitude, and between the 165th meridian of longitude west and the 130th meridian of longitude east of Greenwich.

2. A Conventional line of demarcation in the Western Pacific is agreed to, starting from the north-east coast of New Guinea, at a point near Nitre Rock, on the 8th parallel of south latitude, being the boundary between the British and German Possessions on that Coast, and following that parallel to point A, and thence continuing to points B, C, D, E, F, and G, as indicated in the accompanying Charts, which points are situated as follows: (Here follow a number of nautical directions.)

3. Germany engages not to make acquisitions of territory, accept Protectorates, or interfere with the extension of British influence, and to give up any acquisitions of territory or Protectorates already established in that part of the Western Pacific lying to the east, south-east, or south of the said Conventional line.

4. Great Britain engages not to make acquisitions of territory, accept Protectorates, or interfere with the extension of

German influence, and to give up any acquisitions of territory or Protectorates already established in that part of the Western Pacific lying to the west, north-west, or north of the said Conventional line.

5. Should further surveys show that any islands, now indicated on the said Charts as lying on one side of the said Conventional line, are in reality on the other side, the said line shall be modified so that such islands shall appear on the same side of the line as at present shown on the said Charts.

6. This Declaration does not apply to the Navigator Islands (Samoa), which are affected by Treaties with Great Britain, Germany, and the United States; not to the Friendly Islands (Tonga), which are affected by Treaties with Great Britain and Germany; nor to the Island of Niué (Savage Island), which groups of Islands shall continue to form a neutral region; nor to any islands or places in the Western Pacific which are now under the sovereignty or protection of any other civilized Power than Great Britain or Germany.

Declared and signed in duplicate at Berlin, this sixth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and eighty six. — (Declaration of April 6th, 1886.)

3. Restrictions on State Action Imposed by Superior

Force

RUSSIA AND TURKEY IN THE BLACK SEA

Article XIII

The Black Sea being neutralised according to the terms of Article XI, the maintenance or establishment upon its coast of military-maritime arsenals becomes alike unnecessary and purposeless; in consequence, His Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias and His Imperial Majesty the Sultan engage not to establish or to maintain upon that coast any military-maritime arsenal. (Treaty of Paris, 1856.)

NOTE.

This Article was abrogated by Article I of the Treaty of London, 1871, the parties to which are the six Great Powers of Europe and Turkey.

4. Intervention of the United States in Cuba

Last August an insurrection broke out in Cuba which it speedily grew evident that the existing Cuban Government was powerless to quell. This Government was repeatedly asked by the then Cuban Government to intervene, and finally was notified by the President of Cuba that he intended to resign; that his decision was irrevocable; that none of the other constitutional officers would consent to carry on the Government, and that he was powerless to maintain order. It was evident that chaos was impending, and there was every probability that if steps were not immediately taken by this Government to try to restore order, the representatives of various European nations in the island would apply to their respective governments for armed intervention in order to protect the lives and property of their citizens. Thanks to the preparedness of our Navy, I was able immediately to send enough ships to Cuba to prevent the situation from becoming hopeless; and I furthermore despatched to Cuba the Secretary of War and the Assistant Secretary of State, in order that they might grapple with the situation on the ground. All efforts to secure an agreement between the contending factions, by which they should themselves come to an amicable understanding and settle upon some modus vivendi some provisional government of their own failed. Finally the President of the Republic resigned. The quorum of Congress assembled failed by deliberate purpose of its members, so that there was no power to act on his resignation, and the Government came to a halt. In accordance with the so-called Platt amendment, which was embodied in the constitution of Cuba, I thereupon proclaimed a provisional government for the Island, the Secretary of War acting as provisional governor until he could be replaced by Mr. Magoon, the late minister to Panama and governor of the Canal Zone on the Isthmus; troops were sent to support them and to relieve the Navy, the expedition being handled with most satisfactory speed and efficiency. The insurgent chiefs immediately agreed that their troops should lay down their arms and disband;

and the agreement was carried out. The provisional government has left the personnel of the old government and the old laws, so far as might be, unchanged, and will thus administer the island for a few months until tranquillity can be restored, a new election properly held, and a new government inaugurated. Peace has come in the island; and the harvesting of the sugar-cane crop, the great crop of the island, is about to proceed.

When the election has been held and the new government inaugurated in peaceful and orderly fashion the provisional government will come to an end. I take this opportunity of expressing upon behalf of the American people, with all possible solemnity, our most earnest hope that the people of Cuba will realize the imperative need of preserving justice and keeping order in the island. The United States wishes nothing of Cuba except that it shall prosper morally and materially, and wishes nothing of the Cubans save that they shall be able to preserve their independence. If the elections become a farce, and if the insurrectionary habit becomes confirmed in the Island, it is absolutely out of the question that the Island should continue independent; and the United States, which has assumed the sponsorship before the civilized world for Cuba's career as a nation, would again have to intervene and to see that the govern-. ment was managed in such orderly fashion as to secure the safety of life and property. The path to be trodden by those who exercise self-government is always hard, and we should have every charity and patience with the Cubans as they tread this difficult path. I have the utmost sympathy with, and regard for, them; but I most earnestly adjure them solemnly to weigh their responsibilities and to see that when their new government is started it shall run smoothly, and with freedom from flagrant denial of right on the one hand, and from insurrectionary disturbances on the other. (Message of President Roosevelt, Dec. 3, 1906.)

5. Intervention on the Ground of Humanity

GREECE AND TURKEY, 1827

The case of Greece is precisely similar to that of Belgium, Greece never achieved a de facto independence; on the contrary, at the moment of the European intervention, the Greek patriots were on the point of succumbing. The European Powers did not recognise, they saved Greece. As a matter of European policy, they thought fit to act in a manner decidedly hostile towards Turkey. The battle of Navarino may have been an "untoward event," but it was the natural and almost inevitable consequence of a forcible intervention to prevent the Turkish Government from reducing its subjects to submission. The emancipation of Greece, effected by Europe, was a high act of policy above and beyond the domain of law. As an act of policy, it may have been, and probably was, justifiable; but it was not the less a hostile act, which, if she had dared, Turkey might properly have resented by war. (Letters of Historicus, I.)

6. Intervention to end Illegal Intervention

THE UNITED STATES, FRANCE, AND MEXICO
SECRET DIPLOMACY

In November, 1865, I went to Paris, at the solicitation of the Emperor Napoleon, breakfasted with him, and after breakfast spent two hours and a half with him in his cabinet, during which period he made with me a secret treaty, subject to the approval of the President, by which he agreed to withdraw his army from Mexico, in twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four months; and on that occasion I also arranged for the purchase of French Guiana, and placed in Mr. Seward's hands the terms of purchase fixed by the French minister of foreign affairs. The arrangement in regard to Mexico was approved by the President; and I so informed the Emperor. One of the conditions of that arrangement was, it should be considered a profound secret, and not to be made known to our minister in Paris, or even to the French

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