File No. 836/53–54.
Chargé Lorillard to the Secretary of State.
Petropolis, January 14, 1907.
Sir: I have the honor to inform you that on the 3d instant I received the following telegram:
Pernambuco, January 1, 1907.
American Ambassador, Petropolis:
Dunottar with flour from New York arrived December 29. Customs refuse allow 20 per cent abatement duties under treaty. Please advise reposta paga vinte palavras.
Henry Forster & Cia.
In view of the fact that the minister of finance had repeatedly assured Mr. Griscom that our preferential list was to continue this year without break, that no executive decree was necessary to put it into force, and that all collectors of customs had been instructed in that sense (see Mr. Griscom’s dispatch No. 80, of January 2, 1907), I sent Messrs. Forster the following telegram:
Petropolis, January 3, 1907.
Henry Forster, Recife:
Third. Yours of 1st just received; 20 per cent reduction on American flour continues in force this year without break. Minister Fazenda has telegraphed that effect all customs collectors. If not satisfactorily arranged to-day wire me again.
Lorillard, Chargé.
to which Messrs. Forster replied as follows:
Recife, January 4, 1907.
American Ambassador, Petropolis:
Collector not received instructions.
Forster.
Accordingly, on the 5th instant, I proceeded to Rio and showed the above telegrams to the private secretary to the minister for foreign affairs, urging him to cause the necessary orders to be sent by the ministry of finance. Later in the day he told me that he had seen the minister of finance himself, who had assured him that the necessary orders, continuing the preferential list, had on the previous evening been sent to the collector at Pernambuco.
On my return to Petropolis I found the following telegram:
Recife, January 5, 1907.
American Ambassador, Petropolis:
Customs inspector uninstructed regarding continuance reduction American goods delay prejudicial importers.
Chamberlain.
In view of what I had been told by the foreign office, I thought myself authorized to reply as follows:
Petropolis, January 5, 1907.
Consul Americano, Pernambuco:
Fifth. Foreign office states that special orders were sent to Pernambuco last evening continuing reduction on American flour. Telegraph me if further delay.
Lorillard.
On the 7th instant I telegraphed the consul at Pernambuco as to the actual status of the case, and on the 8th he replied that the collector had still received no instructions.
Bearing in mind the delays which had occurred in previous years in putting into force the authorization granting the preferential list and considering the statements made to the ambassador and myself that orders had been sent to all custom-houses continuing the preferential, I wired the minister for foreign affairs as follows:
Petropolis, January 8, 1907.
His excellency Baron Rio Branco, Rio:
The American consul at Pernambuco has just telegraphed me that the customs authorities continue to refuse to grant the 20 per cent reduction on flour coming from the United States. I beg your excellency to kindly insist at the ministry of finance so that orders be immediately telegraphed to the customs inspector at Pernambuco continuing the reduction of 20 per cent granted American flour.
Lorillard.
No reply to my telegram was received, but on the following day the President signed a decree enforcing the preferential. Duplicate copies of the decree and a translation thereof are herewith inclosed. As the decree appears to be retroactive in character continuing the preferential during the whole year, and as I have heard nothing more from Messrs. Forster & Co., I shall take no further action on their complaint unless I hear further from them.
I have the honor to confirm my telegram of the 10th instant, as follows;a and to acknowledge the receipt of the Department’s telegram of the same date, as follows.a
I have addressed a note based on the telegram to the minister for foreign affairs and will send you a copy of it when a reply has been received.
I have, etc.,