Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 48 Part 2.djvu/628

 1886 SILVER AGREEMENT. the United States, Mexico and Peru, as principal purchasers of silver, it is understood that the Government of Mexico shall purchase or otherwise arrange for withdrawing from the market, as in the attached memorandum of agreement provided, seven million, one hundred and fifty-nine thousand, one hundred and eight fine ounces of silver in each calendar year beginning with the calendar year 1934. This understanding is conditioned upon similar undertakings being entered into by the Governments of Australia, Canada, United States and Peru whereby those Governments agree to purchase or otherwise arrange for withdrawing from the market of amounts of fine ounces of silver which, with the obligation hereby entered into, will make in the aggregate thirty-five million fine ounces of silver annually. It is understood that this agreement and the similar agreements to be entered into by the Delegates of the Governments of Australia, Canada, the United States, and Peru, are subject to the following general provisions: 1. That every provision of this agreement shall terminate on January 1, 1938. 2. That the absorption of silver referred to in this agreement means current mine production. 3. That when the Government of India shall have sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of Government stocks of silver to the net amount of one hundred and seventy-five million fine ounces, as pro- vided in pai'agraph (0) of Article 1 of the attached memorandum of heads of agreement, the obligations of governments to purchase under this contract shall cease. 4. That this memorandum is subject to ratification by the proper governmental authorities of Mexico whose delegate has executed this agreement, and the undersigned delegate undertakes to use his good offices to secure such action at the earliest possible date. 5. That this understanding shall come into force as soon as the ratifications of all the governments concerned are received, provided that all the ratifications are received before the 1st of April, 19:14. A notice by any government, party to this understanding, that the affirmative action necessary to carry out the purposes of this under- standing has been taken will be accepted as an instrument of rati- fication. Nevertheless, if one or more of the governments parties to this understanding have failed to ratify by the first of April, 1934, the understanding shall go into force and effect at that date if the other governments parties to this understalnding have ratified the understanding and have given notice that 'they are prepared to purchase or cause to be withdrawn in the aggregate these thirty- five million fine ounces of silver. The Government of the United