[Inclosure.] The American Minister to the Cuban Secretary of State. MEMORADUM. I. The United States Navy Department is of the opinion that the military necessities connected with the naval base at Guantánamo are such as to render it inadvisable for the United States to surrender any of its jurisdiction over the shores and waters of the bay. Considerable work preparatory to fortification has already been done on the western shores, and it is impossible to determine at the present time what other places on the shore it may be thought necessary to fortify. The situation being so clear that although jurisdiction has been explicitly granted to the United States, the ultimate sovereignty of Cuba is nevertheless acknowledged, it is believed that it will not be difficult to issue instructions to the commandant of the naval station which will effectually prevent all friction with the Cuban authorities and all causes of annoyance; and this the Navy Department will undertake to do. II. (See Claim for the cost of intervention in Cuba.) File No. 811.34537/58. No. 884.] AMERICAN LEGATION, SIR: Referring to my dispatch No. 758, I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy (with translation) of a draft of an agreement in regard to the desired exchange of additional land for our naval station at Guantánamo in return for the Bahía Honda release, which I have just received from the Cuban department of state. In this draft the lines of the agreement of February 16/23, 1903, have been followed. The proposed boundaries for the Guantánamo station are those mentioned in my note of January 21, 1911 (dispatch No. 594), which were copied from the letter of the joint board of March 25, 1907, to the Secretary of the Navy, of which a copy accompanied the Department's instruction No. 265 (to Mr. Morgan), of July 17, 1909. I have, etc., JOHN B. JACKSON. [Inclosure.] Draft of agreement enlarging the naval station at Guantánamo. [Extract.] The Republic of Cuba and the United States of America being desirous to modify the limits of the existing naval station at Guantánamo for reasons of military order with the object to include certain elevations of strategical importance, as well as to provide the necessary water, within the boundaries of the naval station, in exchange for the renunciation by the United States of America of the lease of land in Bahía Honda effected by the agreements of February 16/23 and July 3,1 1903, in execution of the provisions of Article VII of the appendix to the constitution of the Republic of Cuba, and the transfer by the United States of America to the Republic of Cuba, wholly and definitely, of all its rights therein, have named with this object their plenipotentiaries: The President of the Republic of Cuba; Sr. Manuel Sanguily y Garritt, secretary of state; and The President of the United States of America, Mr. John B. Jackson, envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary in Habana, who after communicating to each other their respective full powers, found to be in due form, have agreed upon the following articles: 1 Should be July 2. ARTICLE I. The limits of the areas of land and water in Guantánamo which were leased to the United States of America under the agreements of February 16/23 and July 3, 1903, are hereby increased and definitely fixed in the form described as follows. [Description by metes and bounds.] ARTICLE II. All the rights acquired and all the obligations contracted by the Republic of Cuba and the United States of America in regard to the lands leased at Guantánamo by virtue of the above-mentioned lease are hereby extended to the new leased lands applying to the same for their delimitation, évaluation, and expropriation the proceedings adopted in paragraph 2 of Article I and in Article II of the agreement of July 3, 1903, in case of the lands previously leased. ARTICLE III. All the clauses and provisions of the treaty of February 16/23, 1903, and the regulating convention of the 2d of July, 1903, that are not altered or modified by the present convention shall remain subsistent. ARTICLE IV. The United States of America agrees and covenants to pay to the Republic of Cuba the [annual] sum of as long as the former shall occupy and use said areas of land by virtue of said agreement. ARTICLE V. The United States of America renounces all right over the areas of land and water at Bahía Honda which the Government of the Republic of Cuba leased to the United States of America by the agreements of February 16/23, and July 3, 1903. ARTICLE VI. This lease shall be ratified and the ratifications shall be exchanged in the city of within months from this date. In witness whereof. we, the respective plenipotentiaries, have signed this lease and hereunder affixed our seals. File No. 811.34537/60. The Acting Secretary of Navy to the Secretary of State. JUNE 21, 1911. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of June 9, 1911, inclosing copy of the translation of the draft of an agreement between the United States and Cuba, providing for the desired exchange of additional land for our naval station at Guantánamo in return for the release by the United States of the Bahía Honda naval reservation, and asking for an expression of opinion. This agreement has been referred to the general board of the Navy, which reports as follows: The boundaries described in the inclosed draft of agreement are in accordance with the recommendations of the joint board, as expressed in its letter of March 25, 1907, except that in paragraph 6 the figures are "0.21 nautical mile" instead of "0.17 nautical mile." 2. The general board recommends the ratification of the agreement and approval of the boundaries prescribed, subject to such verification of the surveys as may be necessary to avoid error. This report of the general board is approved, and the ratification of the agreement in its present general form is recommended by this Department. BEEKMAN WINTHROP File No. 811.34537/61. No. 355.] The Secretary of State to the American Minister. WASHINGTON, July 6, 1911. SIR: The Department is in receipt of your dispatch No. 930,2 of the 15th ultimo, in which you report that the question of the extension. 1 See reference to this letter above. introductory note. of the Guantánamo naval station in return for the Bahía Honda release, has been taken up by the Cuban secretary of state with certain influential members of the Cuban Senate, and that he has advised you that the general sentiment is in favor of granting what is desired by the United States. In accordance with the wishes of the Navy Department, you will at once proceed to conclude with the Government of Cuba the lease agreement for the extension of the Guantánamo naval station. As soon as the Department is advised of the readiness of the Government of Cuba to sign the agreement, full powers will be sent you. I am, etc., File No. 811.34537/62. No. 992.] P. C. KNOX. The American Minister to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN LEGATION, Habana, Cuba, July 11, 1911. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt this morning of your instruction No. 355, of the 6th instant, directing me to proceed at once to conclude with the Government of Cuba the lease agreement for the extension of the Guantánamo naval station; and to request that the requisite "full powers" may be sent me as soon as practicable in order that there may be no unnecessary delay when the moment for signing the lease arrives. And I have also to request that you will instruct me as to your willingness to add to this Article III a paragraph similar to, or (preferably) the same as paragraph 3, Article I, of the original lease of July 2, 1903. This paragraph was omitted inadvertently, as I have since learned, by the Cuban department of state, in preparing the draft of the new lease for submission to the American Government. I have, etc., File No. 811.34537/69. No. 1156.] JOHN B. JACKSON. AMERICAN LEGATION, SIR: Referring to previous correspondence in regard to the extension of our naval station at Guantánamo, I have the honor to report that I was told by the Cuban secretary of state this morning that the survey has now been finished and that engineer may be expected to make his final report, through the department of public works, within a few days. Everything appears to be satisfactory. I have, etc., File No. 811.34537/70. JOHN B. JACKSON. The Secretary of State to the American Chargé d'Affaires. No. 411.] · WASHINGTON, November 24, 1911. SIR: Referring to your legation's No. 884 of June 1, 1911, and previous correspondence relating to the matter of the extension of the boundary lines of the United States naval station at Guantánamo, I inclose a copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Navy. When you have ascertained that the Government of Cuba accepts the modifications of the draft agreement as now proposed by the Secretary of the Navy, you will so advise the Department by telegraph. The President's full powers will then be forwarded. I am, etc., [Inclosure.] P. C. KNOX. The Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of State. WASHINGTON, November 13, 1911. SIB: Referring to previous correspondence relative to the matter of the extension of the boundary lines of the United States naval station at Guantánamo, and particularly to the proposed draft of agreement with the Republic of Cuba, forwarded by the United States minister at Habana with his dispatch No. 884 of June 1, 1911, I have the honor to request that the exclusion, from the enlarged territory, of the railroad near the original northern boundary of the station be provided for by altering said proposed draft of agreement in the following particulars, viz [description by metes and bounds]: For convenient reference there is inclosed herewith a drawing showing approximately the location of the lines described above and of the railroad it is intended to exclude from the station limits. G. v. MEYER. File No. 811.34537/72. The American Chargé d'Affaires to the Secretary of State. No. 1234.] AMERICAN LEGATION, Habana, December 4, 1911. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt to-day of the Department's instruction No. 411 of the 24th ultimo. I have to-day presented to the Cuban department of state a note embodying the suggestions of the Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Patterson, the subsecretary of state, who received me in the absence of Mr. Sanguily, assured me that the matter would be given immediate attention and that an answer would be given as soon as possible. I have, etc., File No. 811.34537/74. No. 2.] HUGH S. GIBSON. The American Minister to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN LEGATION, Habana, December 19, 1911. SIR: Referring to Mr. Gibson's No. 1234 of the 4th instant, in which he reports that the Cuban Government is considering the modifications proposed by the Navy Department in the agreement between the United States and Cuba regarding the extension of the boundary lines of the United States naval station at Guantánamo, I have the honor to report that Mr. Sanguily, the Cuban secretary of state, in the course of call made upon me yesterday afternoon, stated that it was his belief and that of President Gómez that the Government of the United States alone was in a position to judge as to the proper limits for the naval station, and that he saw no objection which could fairly be made to the limits indicated by the Navy Department. He added that the Senate would to-day adjourn until the 8th of January, and that by that time the President expected to be able to lay the whole matter before the Senate with greater hope of success than if the matter had been presented without this careful preparation. I have, etc., A. M. BEAUPRÉ. GREAT BRITAIN то AND PROPOSAL OF FRANCE, GERMANY, File No. 437.00. No. 546.] AMERICAN LEGATION, Habana, January 5, 1911. SIR: Referring to my dispatch No. 484,1 of November 26 last, I have the honor to call attention to the fact that Sr. Sanguily, the Cuban secretary of state, understood that instructions would be sent me as a result of his conversation with President Taft at Guantánamo,2 in regard to certain claims which are being pressed against Cuba by England, France, and Germany. As to the exact nature of these claims or their amount, I know very little. All of them arose from the action of the Cuban revolutionary forces prior to 1898, and are due to damage done by those forces to the property of British, French, or German subjects, or in connection with the furnishing of supplies. The Cuban Government is apprehensive that any recognition of its liability in the premises may lead to the presentation of similar claims by other nations (especially Spain), and Sr. Sanguily is anxious to learn if we consider that any liability exists. Recently joint representations were made at the foreign office by my British, French, and German colleagues in this matter, and the Secretary feels that he soon must make a reply of some kind. I have been requested to ask you for telegraphic instructions as to your views of the case. I have, etc., File No. 437.00/7. JOHN B. JACKSON. The Secretary of State to the American Minister. [Telegram.] WASHINGTON, June 8, 1911. Your dispatch of January 5, 1911, No. 546, and subsequent correspondence. The Government of the United States deems it inexpedient to make any expression upon the precise inquiry of the Government of Cuba as to the Cuban liability, but, actuated equally by its usual solicitude for the best interests of Cuba and in consonance with the dictates of justice, the Department has given the representa |