I have just received, in reply to my communication, a note which, it is
claimed, contains complete information on the subject. A copy of this
note I inclose herewith, together with a translation into English.
As will be seen, the regulations, orders, etc., referred to in the said
note will be found in the pamphlets hereunto annexed.
In transmitting this note, which has been prepared by the minister of
railroads, posts, and telegraphs (to whose office pertains the merchant
marine) in collaboration with his colleague, the minister of finance,
the minister of foreign affairs desires to state that the taxes or
duties to be paid by vessels entering the Belgian ports represent in
fact the value of services rendered only, and that in levying such
duties no distinction is made between Belgian and American vessels. He
therefore expresses the hope that our Government, considering this fact,
will not hesitate to exempt from tonnage dues Belgian vessels entering
American ports.
[Inclosure in No.
222.—Translation.]
NOTE.
In the ports of Antwerp, Ghent, and Ostend wharfage and dock dues are
levied conformably to the tariffs established for Antwerp by royal
decrees of January 25 and 29, 1896 (Annexes 1 and 2), for Ghent, by
a communal council order of March 21, 1893 (page 36 of Annex 3), and
for Ostend by a royal decree of January 31, 1896 (Annex 4).
In consequence of these duties, paid into the city treasuries,
vessels find at all hours of the day berths in deep water alongside
of quays, lighted, guarded, and provided with sheds and improved
machinery for unloading and loading; the docks, with a constant
water-level, are also provided with quays, lighted, guarded, and
furnished with necessary apparatus.
In Belgium, the communal administrations thus furnish to navigation
facilities and advantages that are furnished elsewhere by private
companies.
Speaking of Antwerp alone, the capital immobilized in the
construction of the various docks and quays of the Schelde—exclusive
of the expenses of the original establishment of special
services—amounts to about 120,000,000 francs. The maritime
establishments produced in 1896, from harbor dues, about 2,500,000
francs, from which 750,000 francs must be deducted for general
expenses. The net profit of the capital invested is thus a little
less than I£ per cent, while the average rate of interest on the
loans which furnished the greater part of the immobilized capital is
3.27 per cent.
In addition there exist at Antwerp certain optional dues:
- (1)
- For service rendered vessels requesting the assistance of
tugs in the docks (Annex 5).
- (2)
- For the use of dry docks (Annex 6).
- (3)
- For storing goods on the covered and open quays of the
Schelde and of the docks after the expiration of the free
use, provided for by the regulations of these quays (Annexes
7 and 8).
- (4)
- For the use of the hydraulic cranes and other machinery
belonging to the city and utilized to expedite the unloading
or the loading of cargoes (Annexes 9 and 10).
The communal administration of Ghent also levies for the use of
sheds, dry docks, port apparatus, etc., the nonobligatory duties
detailed on pages 38 et seq., of Annex III.
From the preceding statements it results that the different duties,
obligatory or optional, to be paid by vessels in Belgian ports
constitute the price of services really rendered, and, that being
the case, it matters little, with regard to the interests of
navigation, whether these dues are collected by private enterprises
or by communal administrations.
The navigation duties levied by the State are confined to the
wharfage clues established for the outer harbor of Ostend by a royal
decree of December 24, 1895. (See the Moniteur of December 29, 1895,
Annex XI.) These dues, like those collected by the cities of
Antwerp, Ghent, and Ostend, represent the remuneration of the
expenses of construction and repair of the quays (Annex XII), and
for maritime police (Annex XIII), and to the fee to be paid for
issuing bills of health, under the application of the royal decree
of April 25, 1868 (see the Moniteur of April 27, 1868), their
designation proves that they do not constitute duties properly so
called, and can not therefore enter into consideration in the
examination of the question raised.
Finally, in the application of the various duties and taxes mentioned
above no distinction is made between Belgian and American
vessels.
