Lord Lyons to Mr.
Seward.
Washington,
January 6, 1864.
Sir: In several previous communications, and
particularly in a note which I had the honor to address to you on the
30th October last, I have stated the very grave objections entertained
by her Majesty’s government to the system of exacting bonds from
merchants shipping goods from the United States to the Bahamas islands.
It is, therefore, unnecessary that I should attempt to express the
regret with which I have learned that this system of exacting bonds has
now been extended to shipments to other British colonial ports, and
especially to shipments to Newfoundland.
I beg you to consider very seriously the extract from a despatch from her
Majesty’s consul at New York, which, with the accompanying papers, I do
myself the honor to enclose; and I ask your particular attention to the
statements it contains respecting the peculiarly onerous character of
the bonds which are exacted, and respecting the especial hardship of
imposing restrictions of this nature on the export of provisions to
Newfoundland.
The matter appears to me to be very urgent, as well as very important,
and I deem it therefore to be my duty earnestly to recommend it to the
immediate consideration of the government of the United States.
I have the honor to be, with high consideration, sir, your most obedient,
humble servant,
Hon. William H. Seward, &c.,&c., &c.
[Extract. ]
Mr. Archibald to Lord Lyons.
British Consulate, New York,
December 31, 1863.
My Lord: The restrictions which have been
imposed upon the shipments of general merchandise from this port to
those of the Bahamas and Bermuda islands have been heretofore under
your lordship’s consideration. I have now to call your lordship’s
attention to the very injurious restrictions which are likewise
being placed on shipments of flour and provisions to other British
colonial ports, especially to those of Newfoundland. Within the last
two days I have been called upon by the mercantile firms of Messrs.
Robert Dinwiddie & Co. and Messrs. M. E. Greene & Ourrie for
advice and assistance in procuring the clearance at the custom-house
of vessels destined for ports of Newfoundland, laden with flour and
provisions ordered by, and to be consigned to, well-known houses
engaged in the fisheries of Newfoundland, and in the legitimate
local trade of that colony.
[Page 470]
In regard to one of the vessels, the Iona, belonging to the firm of
Punton & Micun, of Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, and laden with
the following articles, viz: 1,050 barrels flour, 200 barrels pork,
100 kegs butter, and other provisions, the shippers were called upon
to enter into securities in double the amount of the invoice, not
merely that the goods shall be landed at Harbor Grace, but that no
part of them shall directly or indirectly be transshipped to a port
in the insurrectionary States, or be in any manner used for the aid
and comfort of the insurgents. I give this as the tenor of the
obligation, from its recital to me by the gentlemen in question.
The peculiar and oppressive nature of this bond is the requiring one
of the sureties to be possessed of real
estate of double the value of the invoice. Mr. Greene being
fortunately able to swear that he owned real estate to the amount in
question, the security of himself and his partner, with that of a
third party, was accepted, and the clearance of the vessel was
accordingly granted.
In regard to Messrs. R. Dinwiddie & Co., they had loaded the brig
Araton, of and belonging to St. John, Newfoundland, with a similar
cargo to that of the Iona, and being called upon to enter into a
bond similar to that above mentioned, they have felt naturally a
great repugnance to comply with the proposal, not merely from the
vague nature of the obligation, and the practical impossibility of
fulfilling it, but the delicacy and difficulty of procuring a third
party possessed of the requisite qualification in real estate to
join in the security. In their emergency, and after unsuccessful
application by them to the customhouse authorities to dispense with
the security, I, at the request of Messrs. Dinwiddie & Co.,
wrote two notes to the collector, copies of which are herewith
enclosed; the second one being written in pursuance of queries by
the collector himself, and upon these vouchers, on my part, the
vessel has been cleared.
Knowing as I did the highly respectable character, not merely of the
shippers, but of the consignees, and parties interested in the
shipments in question, who are engaged exclusively in the legitimate
trade and fisheries of Newfoundland, I felt that, although I ought
not to be called upon to do so, I could safely vouch for the
integrity of their proceedings.
But inasmuch as Newfoundland is supplied in a great measure from the
ports of the United States with flour and provisions, and as there
will be numerous shipments of these articles from this port for that
colony, it is obvious that the nforcement of the restriction to
which I have adverted will be very serious, if not in some instances
prohibitory of the legitimate trade between the United States and
Newfoundland. Messrs. M. E. Greene & Ourrie have now three
vessels here waiting for cargoes of provisions on account of
Newfoundland houses, and Messrs. Dinwiddie & Go. have long been
established shipping agents in the same line. Messrs. Dinwiddie
& Co. inform me that, to obtain the security of a person
possessing an adequate amount of real estate, they are compelled
either to solicit a favor very reluctantly granted by a friend, but
which can hardly be solicited a second time, or else pay for such
security, as they have heretofore done, a commission of 2 1/2 per
cent, on the amount of invoice.
* * * * * * *
The vague and almost impossible obligation into which shippers are
required to enter, the peculiar qualification demanded in regard to
the sureties, and the uncertainty as to the nature of the proof
requisite for the cancelling of bonds, which may be held
indefinitely against the obligors, create burdens serious and
oppressive, if not almost prohibitory of the legitimate trade with
British colonial ports.
I have, &c., &c.,
Lord Lyons, G. C. B., &c., &c., &c.,
[Page 471]
Mr. Archibald to the collector of New York.
British Consulate, New York,
December 31, 1863.
Dear Sir: At the request of Messrs. Robert
Dinwiddie & Co., who are shipping flour and provisions to St.
John, Newfoundland, I beg to inform you that, from my knowledge of
the nature of the trade carried on at St. John and other ports in
Newfoundland, I am confident that the shipments now being made by
the house of R. Dinwiddie are solely and exclusively for the purpose
of being consumed in that island and in the fisheries carried on
there. I think it altogether improbable that any such flour and
provisions will be transshipped from Newfoundland to the southern
ports of the United States or to any intermediate port for that
purpose.
I beg to add that I have been for some years acquainted with Mr.
Mahlon Vail, who has a large bakery at St. John, N. P., for the
supply of which he has been making, and requires to make, regular
shipments of flour from the United States to Newfoundland. I can say
with great confidence, that any shipments made from hence by Mr.
Vail will be used entirely for the purposes of his bakery, or in a
small retail trade for consumption in St. John.
I am, dear sir, yours very truly,
Hon. the Collector, New York.
The same to the same.
British Consulate, New York,
December 31, 1863.
Dear Sir: Referring to my note of to-day, I
beg leave to add that the people of Newfoundland are not, nor is any
portion of them, interested in the political questions in the United
States. They have no trade, direct or indirect, nor any commercial
transactions with the insurgent States of the Union, neither have
they any trade with Nassau or Bermuda, except that occasionally a
vessel from Bermuda may visit Newfoundland seeking a freight.
I am, dear sir, yours, very truly,
Hon. the Collector, New York.
