No. 90.
Mr. Bayard
to Mr. Hall.
Washington, June 13, 1887.
Sir: I have received your No. 652, of the 11th ultimo, concerning a contract between the Spanish subjects (Messrs. Carlos F. Irigoyen and José A. March) and the Government of Guatemala for the establishment of a line of steamers between Panama and San Francisco, and have to approve the very strong presentation of the case made in your [Page 126] protest to the Guatemalan minister for foreign affairs, dated March 24, 1887.
In this connection, I inclose for your information, copies of two recent instructions addressed to your colleague at the City of Mexico, under date of April 25* and May 31, 1887*, by which you will perceive that an almost identical grievance is presented by recent Mexican contracts with the Spanish Transatlantic Steamship Company. If anything, the com plaint against Guatemala’s action rests on stronger grounds, for there the 5 per cent. rebate on the customs duties levied upon the merchandise imported by the Spanish steamers is absolute, and can in no case contingently fall upon the steamship company, as may occur in Mexico if the total duty assessed on a single cargo does not reach a specified sum.
I shall also inclose a copy of your dispatch, with its accompaniments, to Mr. Manning for his information.
I am, etc.,