No. 53.
Mr. Denby
to Mr. Bayard.
Legation of
the United States,
Peking, April 19, 1886.
(Received June 28.)
No. 132.]
Sir: As a further acknowledgment of your dispatch
No. 45, of the 4th March last, touching the claim of John P. Cowles, jr., of
Foochow, for reduction of duty on damaged exports, I have the honor to state
that no actual case has as yet arisen, but if one should arise I will insist
on compliance with the views stated in your dispatch of which the Tsung-li
Yamên is aware by a note which I sent it on the 13th December, 1885, a copy
of which I now inclose.
I have, &c.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 132.]
Mr. Denby to the
foreign office.
Peking, December 13,
1885.
No. 9, 1885.]
Your Excellencies: I have the honor to bring to
the notice of your imperial highness and your excellencies a question
which has been submitted to me by an American merchant at Foochow in the
matter of the construction put by the customs authorities at that port
on the forty-fourth article of the British treaty which relates to
damaged goods.
The article reads—
“Upon damaged goods a fair reduction of duty shall be (made) allowed
proportionate to the deterioration. If any disputes arise they shall be
settled in the manner pointed out in the clause of the treaty having
reference to articles which pay duty ad valorum.”
The language cited in this article is unmistakable as to the class of
goods referred to. It refers to damaged goods and none others, and which
I understand to mean imports as well as exports.
The representation made to me from Foochow shows that the commissioner of
customs interprets the said article of the treaty to mean only damaged imports and not exports. Such an
interpretation appears to me to be decidedly unfair and unjust, and is
not warranted by the language of the article cited.
The said merchant further states that he applied to the customs for
permission to export some damaged brick tea at the proportionate
reduction of duty, which application was refused, the commissioner of
customs stating that full duty must be paid, and then he could move the
authorities to obtain a refund for amount of damage the tea had
sustained. I believe at some of the treaty ports a reduction is made on
damaged exports in proportion to the amount of damage the goods have
sustained, and I will thank your imperial highness and your excellencies
to issue instructions to all the commissioners of customs at the treaty
ports that the duties on damaged goods, imports and exports, shall be
paid on the value of the goods, and not to demand the payment of full
duties, which will save the trouble of afterwards applying for a
rebate.
I have, &c.,
