No. 367.
Mr. Bayard to Mr. de
Weckerlin.
Washington , March 9, 1886.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of the 15th ultimo, in which you invite the attention of this Government to Schedule F of the tariff now in force in this country, and allege that paragraphs 2 and 3 of said schedule discriminate against the importation of leaf tobacco from Sumatra.
In reply, I beg to inform you that this subject had already come under our observation through the reports of our minister at The Hague, and the intimations which have reached us with more or less of authenticity that the Government of the Netherlands contemplates resort to the disastrous policy of retaliation for conjectural grievances, resting on erroneous premises and strained conclusions.
Without prejudice to the fuller reply to be hereafter made, it may be remarked that your note seems designed to close the door to any tariff distinction between “wrapper leaves” and “fillers,” and to demand equal treatment, notwithstanding the different uses, qualities, and prices of these two classes.
Adding that the subject will have impartial consideration.
I beg, &c.,