No. 189.
Mr. Hay to Chen Lan Pin and Mr. Yung
Wing.
Washington, August 13, 1880.
Gentlemen: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 9th instant, whereby you informed this Department of the expected arrival at San Francisco of the Chinese steamer Wo Chung, being the first of her class to enter an American port, and, in order to prevent any misunderstanding in regard to duties or other charges, you request that the Secretary of the Treasury be notified, to the end that the customs authorities at San Francisco may extend to that vessel the privileges conceded to vessels of other nations in treaty relations with the United States. The matter was forthwith referred to the Secretary of the Treasury, from whom I now learn that under the laws of the United States and the provisions of the existing treaties with China it will be necessary to exact tonnage tax at alien rates.
It appears that discriminating duties of tonnage and impost on foreign vessels and their cargoes are to be charged, as provided by law (section 4219 Revised Statutes), in all cases except where exemption is secured by treaty stipulations, or where special exemption is proclaimed by the President upon evidence of reciprocal exemption accorded to vessels of the United States, conformably to the provisions of section 4228 of the Revised Statutes, or where an exemption is created otherwise by law.
The treaties between the United States and China do not establish reciprocal exemption from discriminating taxes. While the tonnage tax to be collected from American vessels in the open ports is fixed by the treaty of June 18, 1858, between the two countries, it does not appear that Chinese vessels entering those ports are subject to the same charges. Neither does it appear that Chinese vessels resorting to the ports of the United States may not trade directly with the closed ports of China whither American vessels are debarred from going.
Under these circumstances the Secretary of the Treasury, conforming to the prescriptions of the statute as to tonnage duties, section 4219 of the Revised Statutes, has directed the collector of customs at San Francisco to exact, upon the arrival of the steamer, tonnage tax at alien rates, in addition to the ordinary tonnage tax paid annually, if the vessel be engaged in regular voyages between the two countries. He has, however, reserved for the present, consideration and decision of the question of duties on the cargo which the vessel may bring.
Accept, &c.,
Acting Secretary.