Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 47 Part 2.djvu/1149

 LOAD-LINE CEBTIFICATES-BEWIUM. I. date de cette commUDication pourrait ~tre consid" comme indiquant la mise en vipeur de I'arrangement. Veuillez ag:tier, Monsieur Ie Chug' d'Affaires, l'assurance de ma consid&ation la plus distingu~. . Pour Ie Ministre: ]A Diredeur ~. MONSIEUR MAYER, 0ha1f~:~ des Etats-Unu, General Division B Section I.B ., Comm. No. C.24/354 SIR: [TraIIala&lon) MINISTRY FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS, BT1l88elB, Februarg 4-, 198•. I did not fail to inform the Minister for Transportation of the contents of the Embassy's note of October 7 last, No. 708, concerning the n~tiation between the two countries of a temporary agreement on load-line l'e£Ulations of vessels. I have the llonor to inform IOU that the regulations and tables of load lines which are mentioned in article 161 of the royal decree of November ~l 1920, coDBtituu. a ruling for the application of the law con~ tile safety of vesseJi, are thele2UlatioDB and tablea of load lines of tile FJench Govemment as given 'by the Veritas Bureau and the rules of 1906 of the British Board of Trade as given in "Lloyd's Register of Shipping." AJJ the Government of the United States feels that it cannot assent to the proposal that has been submitted to it, of applying in the matter of Toad-line regulatiODB the reciprocity agreement conceJ"DiDg the safety of vessels, concluded in 192 the Government of the KinIr accepts the arrangement proposed by tile Government of the Unitea States. This arraugement will have, therefore, a temporary character and is destined to come to an end as BOOn as the two Governments shall have ratified the international agreement concerning load lines and as soon as this agreement shall come into force. The Government of the King declares, consequently, that as a measure of reciprocity ~ to the melSU... stated by the American Government, the . Government will in the interim before the enforcement in the nited States and in &lgium of the international agreement on load lines, of July 6, 1930, and with the exception of the conditions set forth below, permit competent authori- ties of the Belgian Government to recogmze the marks of the load lines and the certificates of these lines for merchant vessels under the United States flag, when these are established in conformity with the laws and repiations in force in the United States, as being equivalent to the marKs of the load lines and the certificates of these lines established in conformity with Belgian law. This rec~tion is subject to the following conditions: 1) The marks of the load lines shall correspond to the certificates of the load lines; 2) Alterations of sufficient importance to affect the calculations on which the load line was based shall not have been made, since the issuance of the certificate, to the hull and to the superstructure of the vessel concerned; 2789