Señor Hurtado to Mr. Blaine.
Washington, May 18, 1892. (Received May 19.)
Sir: In compliance with instructions received from my Government I had the honor to address you a communication on the 25th of last March requesting that, in observance of the second article of the existing treaty between Colombia and the United States of America, the privilege of importing coffee and hides into this country free of duty, gratuitously granted to and enjoyed by several nations under section 2 of the tariff law, should immediately be made common to Colombia.
I beg leave to state that I have not yet been favored with a reply to my said communication, and I have been directed to ask that you will be good enough to give your earliest convenient attention to the matter which forms the subject of the above-mentioned note.
In withholding from Colombian produce the privilege I have alluded to considerable inconvenience and loss are being caused to our merchants engaged in trade with the United States. American citizens carrying on business with Colombia must suffer from the same cause and in a like manner. The trade between the two countries has already decreased to a great extent subsequently to and in consequence of the imposition of differential duties on the chief commodities imported from Colombia into the United States, and if the present condition of things be allowed to continue that trade will soon be completely ruined.
This position of affairs, which causes deep concern to the Government of Colombia, and to which that of the United States can not remain indifferent, calls for a prompt compliance with the just demand contained in my note of the 25th of last March as the only proper way to remedy the evils and guard against the danger I have pointed out.
Besides, the demand set forth in the note often above referred to is made as of right. It is preferred not only as based on sound policy but as necessitated for the fulfillment of certain conditions of the treaty between the two countries, which the contracting parties pledged their faith “to religiously observe in their relations with each other.”
Accept, etc.,