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exchange may, in accordance with Article 38 of the Uniform Law for Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes (Annex I to the Convention), present it, not only on the day on which it is payable, but either on that day or on one of the two following business days.

"Consequently the reservation made in this respect by France, on her accession to the above-mentioned Convention, concerning Article 5 of Annex II to the said instrument ceases to apply."

"With reference to my letter C. L. 76. 1936. II. B, of May 14th, 1936, regarding the accession of France to the Convention providing a Uniform Law for Cheques, with Annexes and Protocol, signed at Geneva on March 19th, 1931, I have the honour to inform you that the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the French Republic has notified me, in a communication dated October 19th, 1937, that, in consequence of certain changes introduced into French legislation regarding the maturity of commercial bills by the Decree-Law of August 31st, 1937, and in application of Article 27 of Annex II to the abovementioned Convention and Article II of the Final Act of the Conference by which it was adopted, no payment whatsoever, in respect of a bill, draft cheque, current account, deposit of funds or securities or otherwise may be demanded and no protest may be drawn up on Saturdays or Mondays, which for these purposes only, are assimilated to legal holidays."

RESERVATION BY AUSTRALIA

9

Czechoslovakia-Monaco

According to a circular letter from the League of Nations dated November 29, 1937, the Governments of Czechoslovakia and Monaco have notified the Secretary General that they have no objections to make regarding the desire of Australia to be allowed the limitation specified in paragraph 1 of section D of the protocol to the convention on stamp laws in connection with bills of exchange and promissory notes, signed June 7, 1930; namely, that the only instruments to which the provisions of the convention will apply, insofar as concerns the Commonwealth of Australia, are bills of exchange presented for acceptance or accepted or payable elsewhere than in the Commonwealth, the same limitation applying also to the Territories of Papua and Norfolk Island and to the Mandated Territories of New Guinea and Nauru.

FISHERIES

AGREEMENT FOR THE REGULATION OF WHALING, AND FINAL ACT, 1937 10 Germany-Norway

By a note dated December 3, 1937, the British Ambassador at Washington informed the Secretary of State that the instruments of

See Bulletin No. 97, October 1937, p. 16.

10 See Bulletin No. 98, November 1937, p. 23.

ratification by Germany and by Norway of the agreement for the regulation of whaling, signed at London on June 8, 1937, were deposited in the archives of the British Foreign Office on November 5 and October 29, 1937.

By a telegram dated December 1, 1937, the American Embassy at London reported that information had been received from the Foreign Office to the effect that although the number of ratifications required to bring the agreement definitely into force is five, it was put into force provisionally on July 1, 1937, under the provisions of article 20.

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY

CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY (TREATY SERIES, No. 834) 11

Tanganyika

By a note dated December 7, 1937, the Swiss Minister at Washington informed the Secretary of State that the British Government has notified the Swiss Federal Council, in application of article 16 bis of the convention for the protection of industrial property as revised on November 6, 1925, of its adherence, in respect of the territory of Tanganyika, to the convention. The adherence will take effect on January 1, 1938.

LABOR

CONVENTIONS OF THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR CONFERENCE

Hungary

According to a circular letter from the League of Nations dated December 17, 1937, the ratification by Hungary of the convention concerning the marking of the weight on heavy packages transported by vessels, adopted by the International Labor Conference at its twelfth session (Geneva, May 30-June 21, 1929), was registered with the Secretariat on December 6, 1937.

Mexico

According to a circular letter from the League of Nations dated November 19, 1937, the ratification by Mexico of the convention concerning workmen's compensation in agriculture, adopted by the International Labor Conference at its third session (Geneva, October 25-November 19, 1921), was registered with the Secretariat on November 1, 1937.

"See Bulletin No. 95, August 1937, p. 23; text of convention, 47 Stat. (pt. 2)

Papua-New Guinea

According to a circular letter from the League of Nations dated November 19, 1937, the ratification by Australia of the convention concerning unemployment indemnity in case of loss or foundering of the ship, adopted by the International Labor Conference at its second session (Genoa, June 15-July 10, 1920), will apply also to the Territory of Papua and to the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. The application of the convention to the above-mentioned countries was registered with the Secretariat on November 6, 1937.

When registering this application the Minister for External Affairs of Australia called attention to the fact that the ordinances on this subject apply to persons other than natives, the latter being effectively protected under the "Native Labour Ordinance."

Poland

According to a circular letter from the League of Nations dated November 24, 1937, the ratifications by Poland of the following conventions adopted by the International Labor Conference at its seventh session (Geneva, May 19-June 10, 1925), were registered with the Secretariat on November 3, 1937:

Convention concerning workmen's compensation for accidents; Convention concerning workmen's compensation for occupational diseases.

NAVIGATION

ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND POLAND EFFECTING THE ADHERENCE OF THE FREE CITY Of Danzig to THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND POLAND FOR THE MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF SHIP MEASUREMENT CERTIFICATES (EXECUTIVE AGREEMENT SERIES, No. 111)

An agreement, effective April 22, 1930, was concluded by an exchange of notes between this Government and the Polish Government providing for the mutual recognition of the tonnage measurement certificates of ships (Executive Agreement Series, No. 71).

By a subsequent exchange of notes dated December 4, 1937, an arrangement, was effected providing for the adherence of the Free City of Danzig to the above-mentioned agreement. The arrangement, printed as Executive Agreement Series No. 111, provides that the adherence will become effective on December 19, 1937.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

INTERNATIONAL RADIO CONFERENCE AND INTERNATIONAL TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CONFERENCE

The President has approved the appointment of the following official delegation to attend the International Radio Conference and

the International Telegraph and Telephone Conference, which are to be convened at Cairo, Egypt, February 1, 1938, and are to continue concurrently, for the purpose of revising the general and additional radio regulations, the telegraph regulations, and the telephone regulations annexed to the international telecommunication convention signed at Madrid in 1932:

Delegates:

The Honorable Wallace H. White, Jr., United States Senate, chairman

Capt. Stanford C. Hooper, United States Navy

E. K. Jett, acting chief engineer, Federal Communications
Commission

Francis Colt de Wolf, Treaty Division, Department of
State

Technical advisers:

War Department:

Lt. Col. David M. Crawford, Signal Corps

Navy Department:

Comdr. Joseph R. Redman

Treasury Department:

Comdr. J. F. Farley, chief communications officer, United
States Coast Guard

Department of Commerce:

L. H. Simson, communications specialist, Radio Development Section

Federal Communications Commission:

E. M. Webster, acting assistant chief engineer
Gerald C. Gross, chief, International Section
Marion H. Woodward, senior telegraph engineer

William G. Butts, chief, Tariff Section

Secretary general of delegation:

Joseph C. Satterthwaite, second secretary, American Legation, Baghdad

Secretary of delegation:

Arthur L. Richards, American vice consul, Cairo

INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON RADIOCOMMUNICATIONS

The first Inter-American Conference on Radiocommunications was held at Habana, Cuba, from November 1 to December 13, 1937. The following Governments were represented at the Conference: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Mexico, Newfoundland, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

The Conference resulted in the signing of a convention, two agreements, and the final acts, namely, (1) the inter-American radiocommunications convention; (2) final acts of the first Inter-American Radio Conference, including (a) resolutions, motions, and agreements,

and (b) recommendations to the International Telecommunications Conferences to be held at Cairo, Egypt, February 1, 1938; (3) interAmerican arrangement concerning radiocommunication; (4) North American regional broadcasting agreement.

The inter-American radiocommunications convention undertakes to establish, at least temporarily, in the city of Habana and under the auspices of the Government of Cuba, an Inter-American Radio Office (C. I. R.) which, in a consultative capacity, is intended to provide for closer cooperation among the member states and for a fuller and more rapid dissemination of technical, legal, and other data of interest in the field of communications, all for the purpose of an improvement of engineering practices and a better understanding of the legal problems in the field of communications in the participating countries. The convention provides in considerable detail for the organization and future conduct of conferences, including the inter-American pronouncement with respect to voting.

Part 3 of the convention undertakes to apply throughout the American Continent numerous special provisions appearing in the South American regional convention on radiocommunications and affirms the sovereign right of all nations to the use of every broadcasting channel, while recognizing at the same time the need for regional arrangements in view of the present state of the art. Accordingly, provision is made for the negotiation of bilateral agreements when need therefor arises.

The inter-American arrangement concerning radiocommunications, a purely administrative agreement, seeks to effect a standardization throughout the Americas of technical matters involved in the art of radiocommunications, particularly with respect to allocations, tolerances, spurious emissions, and interference, use and nonuse of certain air calling and distress frequencies, amateurs and the receipt and transmission by them of third-party messages, an international police radio system, and radio aids to air navigation, all with respect to frequencies outside the standard broadcasting band.

The North American regional broadcasting agreement undertakes to establish in that region, which consists of Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Mexico, Newfoundland, and the United States, and within the standard broadcast band, frequency assignments to specified classes of stations on clear, regional, and local channels with a view to avoiding interference which in this region has caused great inconvenience to radio listeners. It is believed that the principles laid down in this convention, if carried into effect, will result in general satisfaction not only to the listening public but to the broadcasters as well.

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