Mr. Dix to Mr. Seward

No. 6.]

Sir: I enclose a translation of an extract copied from a Havre letter into the Moniteur of this morning, showing the friendly construction put upon the recent arrangement, which was the subject of your despatch by the Atlantic telegraph, in the commercial districts of France.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOHN A. DIX.

Hon. William H. Seward, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C.

[Untitled]

They write to us from Havre, January 1, to this effect:

The merchants of our port have received with great satisfaction the news given by the Moniteur this morning, of the abolition of tonnage duties on French ships arriving in the United States. Reciprocal exemption had already been granted to American ships entering French ports.

Our relations with the United States must receive a new impulse from the abrogation of this duty, which amounted to five francs a ton, carpenter’s measure, and was a very heavy charge, especially for vessels of large tonnage. We cannot better give an idea of this, than by citing a fact connected with the trade between this port and the United States.

The steamers of our postal service which make twenty-six (26) voyages a year have heretofore been obliged to pay, on arriving in New York, a sum exceeding ten thousand francs ($2,000) each. The liberal measure which the American and French governments have just taken effects an annual saving of nearly 300,000 francs ($60,000) to the General Transatlantic Company alone.

We can judge from this single instance of the importance to all French commerce of the abolition of this tonnage duty.