No. 351.
Mr. Frelinghuysen to Mr. Foster.
Department
of State,
Washington
,
March 21,
1884.
No. 145.]
Sir: I transmit herewith for your information
copies of a letter addressed to me by the Secretary of the Treasury, and my
reply thereto, touching a request made by the Spanish consul at Baltimore to
be furnished by the collector of customs at that port with periodical
certificates of the cargoes of sugar, mollasses, and tobacco imported from
Cuba and Porto Rico, giving the name and flag of the vessel, date of entry,
port of clearance, number and description of packages, and weight in
American pounds, &c.
This request of Mr. Navarro, the consul, would appear to have been made under
a misapprehension of the purport and scope of the third article of the
agreement signed at Madrid February 13, 1884. Such a request has not been
made, so far as known, by any other consular officer of Spain in the United
States.
From the reply made to Mr. Folger’s inquiry, it will be seen that this
Government construes the engagement in accordance with its evident intent,
and will require its customs officers to give to any Spanish consul,
whenever he may request it, a certificate in respect to the cargo of sugar
or tobacco brought by any designated vessel to our ports. Al though molasses
is not mentioned in the agreement, it may be deemed comprised under the
general phrase “sugar.”
It is of course, evident, that the agreement could not have contemplated
requiring our customs administration to prepare for the information of the
Spanish consuls detailed periodical statements of every package of the
articles in question brought to the United States from the Antilles. Besides
entailing an amount of labor not necessary to compliance with the agreement,
and which this Government, even in the interest of its own revenues, could
not well ask of any foreign Government under like circumstances, there is
involved a question of responsibility which appears to be decisive. There is
the distinction between courteously furnishing specific information when it
may be needed and requested, and an obligation to make a comprehensive and
exact return, omitting not even isolated packages found in a general cargo
or entered by passengers as personal effects.
I am, sir, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 145.]
Mr. Folger to Mr.
Frelinghuysen.
Treasury Department,
Washington
,
March 13,
1884.
Sir: I have the honor to state that this
Department is in receipt of a letter, dated the 8th instant, from the
collector of customs at Baltimore, in relation to a request of Mr. Jose”
de Navarro, consul of Spain at that port, to be furnished with
certificates from time to time of cargoes of sugar, molasses, and
tobacco imported from Cuba and Porto Rico, giving the name and flag of
the vessel, date of entry, port of clearance, number of hogsheads, bags,
or boxes, net weight in American pounds, &c.
The collector states that a compliance with the request made involves
considerable labor, and would require a regular periodical report to the
consul.
[Page 486]
I will thank you to state whether under the recent agreement between the
Spanish. Government and the United states, mentioned in the proclamation
of the President of the 14th ultimo, or any other similar agreement,
this Government is now required to furnish the certificates above
mentioned.
Very respectfully,
CHAS. J. FOLGER,
Secretary.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 145.]
Mr. Frelinghuysen
to Mr. Folger.
Department of State,
Washington
,
March 20,
1884.
Sir: I have had the honor to receive your
letter of the 13th instant, in which you inform me of the request of the
Spanish consul at Baltimore to be furnished from time to time with
certificates of the cargoes of sugar, molasses, and tobacco imported
from Cuba and Porto Rico, giving the name and flag of the vessel, date
of entry, port of clearance, number of packages, and weight in American
pounds, &c. You mention the collector’s statement that compliance
with this request would involve considerable labor and require “a
regular periodical report to the consul.” You accordingly ask whether
these certificates are required under the recent agreement.
In reply, I have the honor to state my belief, founded on the reports of
Mr. Foster, who negotiated the agreement, that the third article of the
agreement of February 13, 1884, merely contemplates furnishing in any
particular case, when specially requested by the Spanish consul, a
statement of the quantities of sugar, molasses, and tobacco forming the
cargo of a vessel.
The object of the arrangement is to enable the Spanish authorities to
enforce the collection of the export tax levied on those products in the
Antilles, in respect of which the insular revenues are often defrauded.
A case recently occurred at Cienfuegos where 1,000 hogsheads of sugar
were shipped without paying export dues. The knowledge that a ready
means of detecting such frauds is available on the arrival of the cargo
here would, it was thought, check the practice. When fraud is suspected
by the Spanish officers, the consul can immediately procure from the
collector a statement of the quantity imported by the suspected vessel,
and thus substantiate or disprove the suspicion.
The intent was clearly that in case of need a special favor might be
asked and granted. Periodical reports in detail of all importations of
this character would practically entail upon the several custom-houses a
responsibility in the interest of protecting the Spanish revenues which
it could not have been intended to transfer from the Spanish consuls to
our collectors of customs.
I would suggest that a circular be sent to the collectors of customs,
instructing them that whenever a Spanish consular officer shall request
the certificate contemplated in article 3 of the agreement of February
13, 1884, it is to be promptly furnished in respect of any designated
vessel, and will be confined to a statement of the quantities of sugar,
molasses, and tobacco brought by such vessel.
A copy of this correspondence will be furnished to the Spanish minister
here and to our representative at Madrid, for their information.
I have, &c.,
