Whenever a sign of any kind appears in the preceding synopsis it means
that there is a proviso in our treaty with that country touching more or
less definitely upon the subject indicated. The sign (†) means that the
subject is covered by the proviso or nearly so; a (‡) means that it is
modified in some measure; a (§) means that it applies only to American
citizens in the consular service, not to foreigners, and a (¶) means
that the requisitions for the extradition of criminals may be made
“through the superior consular officer; otherwise through the diplomatic
service.” A blank space means that the point is not touched upon by any
treaty now in force.
This synopsis of our commercial treaties shows at a glance their
relative fullness or deficiency, and the most remarkable thing about it
is their deficiency. Sometimes, it is true, by virtue of international
comity, much larger discretion is exercised by consuls and diplomats
than is vouchsafed by the terms of the treaty; but it is not to be
inferred that this is always the case.
Treaties are sometimes intended to last forever (_in perpetuo_), and
sometimes they are concluded for only a term of years. Political
treaties, the purposes of which is usually to terminate wars, establish
boundaries, award indemnities, etc., naturally belong, as a rule, to the
first class, while commercial treaties usually have a time limit. This
accounts for a good many of the blank spaces in the above synopsis.
It will be noticed that there are some countries in the above list which
have not at present the treaty making power—such, for instance, as
Egypt, the Hanseatic Republic, Prussia, Hawaii, Samoa, Madagascar,
Borneo, Kongo Free State, etc. In such cases the government which
assumes the sovereignty assumes the treaty obligations, or else
concludes new ones.
It may be noticed, on the other hand, that there are no commercial
treaties with either Mexico, Brazil, Uruguay or Chile. This does not
mean that there are no political treaties with those countries, or that
there never have been any commercial treaties, but merely that in some
cases the latter have been allowed to lapse or have been abrogated, and
no new ones have been concluded. Canada, Australia, India, and all other
colonies have no sovereignty, and therefore are not states in
international law. Hence they cannot appoint or receive ambassadors nor
can they make treaties except through the sovereign power.