No. 346.
Sir Edward
Thornton to Mr. Evarts.
Sir: In compliance with an instruction which I have received from Earl Granville, I have the honor to inform you that the British vice-consul at Port-au-Prince, Hayti, has reported the erection of two lighthouses in the Bay of Port-au-Prince, and the establishment of light dues in connection therewith.
As it appears that the light dues to be levied on foreign merchant ships will be double the amount of those to be levied on Haytian vessels, Mr. Stuart has been instructed to urge that British ships should be put on the same footing as Haytian in this respect, and to endeavor to secure the co-operation of his foreign colleagues in any representations which he may make to the Haytian Government on the subject. Earl Granville has therefore instructed me to bring the matter to the attention of the Government of the United States, and to ask if it be willing to take steps in support of the action which Her Majesty’s Government has taken with a view to securing the equal treatment of vessels of all flags, that it would address similar instructions to its representatives at Port-au-Prince.
I have, &c.,