No. 545.
Mr. Foster to Mr.
Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
Madrid, June 30, 1885.
(Received July 15.)
No. 334.]
Sir: Referring to your No. 336, of the 6th ultimo,
in regard to passports in Cuba, I have to report that I deemed it advisable
to defer action upon it until the expected commercial treaty negotiations
had been entered upon; but on the 26th instant I received a note from the
minister of state, of which a translation is inclosed, in reply to one I had
addressed to him on the 31st of March, 1884, on the subject of the
annoyances and injuries suffered by Americans visiting Cuba from the
passport system enforced in that island. A copy of my note referred to was
transmitted to the Department in my No. 199, of April 1, 1884. The substance
of the minister of state’s reply is that no complaints have ever been
presented by the consul-general at Havana to the governor-general, and that
if they had been presented they would have received prompt attention. It may
be well to forward a copy of the ministers note to Consul-General Williams
for his information.
In view of the receipt of this note, I thought it opportune to act upon your
instruction, No. 336, and I have accordingly sent to-day to Sr. Elduayen a
note, of which a copy is inclosed. As soon as the treaty negotiations are
formally entered upon, I will follow up the subject by asking for the
insertion of a stipulation providing for the abolition of the passport
system in Cuba, and I will not fail to give you prompt information of the
views of the Spanish Government when made known to me.
I am, &c.,
[Page 727]
[Inclosure 1 in No.
334.—Translation.]
Mr. Elduayen to Mr.
Foster.
Ministry of
State,
Palace,
June 25, 1885.
My Dear Sir: With the data before me which my
colleague, the minister of ultramar, has communicated to me, I am to-day
able to reply to the note which your excellency was pleased to address
to me on the 31st of March of last year, in which you set forth the
annoyances and injuries which, according to your reports, resulted to
citizens of the United States in Cuba from the manner in which the laws
and regulations respecting passports are there carried out.
From the data sent by the governor-general of said island, to whom an
account was given of your excellency’s note to which the honor belongs
to me to reply, it appears that if annoyances and injuries do really
result to the citizens of the United States who visit Cuba by requiring
them to observe the formalities prescribed in the legislation concerning
passports, it is also entirely certain that at no time has the consul of
the United States in Havana addressed himself to the governor-general,
setting forth these inconveniences, nor does it appear that the
interested persons have resorted to him on their pare with any request
on this subject which has been unjustly denied.
This declaration is founded upon the fact that, notwithstanding the
active steps taken by the superior authority of Cuba, no data has been
found which show that the consul of the United States has ever sought to
put himself in accord with those authorities in order to reach the most
equitable legal means of modifying, in so far as was possible, the
demands and restrictions which the laws controlling the subject of
passports establish both for citizens as well as foreigners.
The system has been in operation for a period of many years and continues
to be, without having up to the present occasioned any complaint on the
part of other Governments whom its existence might affect; and it
certainly cannot be concealed from the intelligent judgment of your
excellency that the carelessness which the persons interested are
accustomed to show is due in great measure to the steamship companies,
who omit to inform them of the formalities which are to be observed in
this matter in the island of Cuba.
But, in spite of this, it is not to be doubted that if the authorities
and consuls of the United States would be careful to inform their
citizens of the requisites with which it is indispensable for them to
comply, the annoyances and injuries would not be experienced of which
your excellency treats in the note to which the honor belongs me to
reply.
Besides, the imputations are especially to be considered which are
directed against the Spanish officials, who are accused of not wishing
to inform travelers nor to affix the visa when so
solicited, or that they do not accept American coin. It is evident that
these are confined to particular cases, of which no knowledge exists in
those offices, and in respect to which no resolution of a general
character could be adopted, first, because no law exists that the shore
authorities should inform foreigners who arrive in the country of the
practices and customs which they have to observe, as well as in respect
to the acceptance of American coin, because it is provided that the dues
fixed for the legislation and issuing of passports should be paid in
public stamps, and in the second place, no complaint having been
produced against the refusal of the visa on said
documents, it was not possible for the authorities to take any action in
that direction.
On the other hand, as there naturally exist specified hours for business
in all the offices of state, it would be very easy that an interested
party might enter not at the proper moment, and that consequently he
could not be attended to immediately.
Respecting the indication which your excellency makes in your note that
by the continuance of this order of things it might happen that the
highest American officials might be prevented from returning to their
country in a given day if the neglect of some employé of the island
interposed, your excellency will permit me to state to you that there is
no information that the officials or subjects of a nation friendly to
Spain, as is that which your excellency so worthily represents in
Madrid, has at any time been withheld the consideration which is due
them.
The Government of the United States ought to be persuaded that the worthy
superior authority of Cuba will not fail to attend with all solicitude
to any complaint which the North American consuls in the island may
bring to his notice, and will proceed to impose the punishment which is
due to the Spanish official who may be shown to have maliciously
occasioned the difficulties to which your excellency refers in your
note.
I improve, &c.,
[Page 728]
[Inclosure 2 in No. 334.]
Mr. Foster to Mr.
Elduayen.
Legation of the United States,
Madrid, June 30,
1885.
Excellency: I beg to thank your excellency for
the note of the 25th instant, in which I am honored with a reply to my
note of the 31st of March of last year respecting the annoyance and
injuries which the consul-general at Havana reported to the Government
at Washington citizens of the United States visiting Cuba were subject
to on account of the laws and regulations respecting passports.
I do not think it necessary to weary your excellency by a detailed reply
to the several points presented by your worthy colleague, the minister
of ultramar. It may suffice to state that of the consul-general bas not
brought the complaints enumerated to the attention of the superior
authority of Cuba, it is to be presumed that as the annoyances are the
natural result, in great measure, of the system of rigid passport
inspection, and that they can only be effectually remedied by the
removal of the system, he thought it proper to report the facts to his
own Government for such representation as it might think fit to make to
the home Government at Madrid.
The friendly spirit in which your excellency’s note is written and the
intimation therein that the governor-general of the island would be
disposed to listen with much consideration to the complaints which might
be presented to him, strengthen me greatly in the belief I entertain
that his Catholic Majesty’s Government will give favorable attention to
any suggestion which my Government may make with the object of avoiding
for the future these annoyances. In this view of the subject I regard
your excellency’s note as sent to me at a timely moment.
Among other instructions which have been given to me by the Secretary of
State in connection with the pending treaty of commerce between the
United States and the Spanish Antilles, he has directed me to present
the matter of the passport regulations of Cuba for consideration, in the
hope that a stipulation may be agreed upon in that convention which will
remove the present causes of complaint.
The right of the Spanish Government to adopt any just and necessary
requirements in regard to passports was not questioned in my note, to
which your excellency did me the honor to reply; but it is believed that
the desirability of the relaxation or removal of the existing
regulations has greatly increased of late years. In addition to the fact
that the island is happily in the enjoyment of peace and good order, and
that the growth of commercial relations with the United States has
largely increased the communication between the two countries, a new
state of things has lately come into existence which presents the
question of passports in a fresh light to the two Governments. As a
result of the great railroad development which has recently taken place
in the States of the Union on or near the Gulf of Mexico, several
railways leading to different ports in Florida have been opened up
within a short time and lines of steamers have been established from
these ports to Havana, thus furnishing short and rapid routes to Cuba in
addition to that from New York, which has heretofore been almost the
only passenger communication between the two countries. With the
well-known salubrity and mildness of climate, the beauty of the scenery,
and the social attractions of Cuba, by means of these new lines of
railroads and steamships that island may be made the winter resort of
tens of thousands of Americans, to the great pecuniary benefit of its
inhabitants. But that your excellency may see that it is no exaggeration
to say that the present passport regulations are a serious impediment to
the realization of such a state of things, I beg to direct your
attention to a copy of a communication accompanying this note, which the
president of one of the railway lines has addressed to the Secretary of
State on the subject of the great annoyances and discouragement to
commercial and passenger traffic caused by the system now enforced of
requiring passports visaed by a Spanish consul from all persons arriving
at Cuban ports.
The passport system, having been found a serious obstacle to the modern
mode of universal and rapid travel, is now practically and tacitly
abolished in Europe and most parts of America, except where a military
state of siege requires every traveler to be identified and vouched for.
It is believed by my Government that our relations with Cuba are so
peaceful and intimate that this restriction to trade and travel might
now be removed without detriment to the interests of either nation, and,
in fact, to their mutual advantage. I have been, therefore, instructed
by the Secretary of States to take an early opportunity to lay these
views before your excellency, and to propose and urge that a clause
should be inserted in the commercial treaty abolishing the, present
system of passports. It had been my intention to reserve the question
for the negotiations which I have been hoping, from day to day, would be
entered upon, but in view of the reception of your excellency’s note of
the 25th instant, I have thought it opportune in acknowledging its
receipt to submit the foregoing considerations.
I gladly, &c.,
