[Inclosure in No. 120.]
Mr. Reed to the
Marquis de la Vega de
Armijo.
Legation of the United States,
Madrid, March 13,
1882.
Excellency: I have lately, under instructions
from the Secretary of State of the United States, had occasion to
address your excellency in regard to certain fees imposed in Cuban ports
on the American vessels George W. Chase, Ellie Knight, and the Santiago.
Heretofore the consul-general of the United States at Havana has
generally been able to secure an adjustment of such cases on
presentation of the facts to the superior authorities at that port, and
he endeavored to do so in each one of the cases above mentioned, but was
informed that under an existing ordinance, the strict observance of
which has been re-enjoined by a royal order recently promulgated in
Cuba, the local authorities can no longer deal with such questions, but
that they must be remitted to the government at Madrid for
settlement.
The adoption of this course of procedure by His Catholic Majesty’s
government has very much aggravated the general grievance to American
commerce with the island of Cuba. Indeed, the complaints of owners and
masters of American vessels against this new grievance have been so
numerous that my government has been obliged to give the subject its
most serious attention, and, after due consideration, it has been
compelled to recognize the justice of those complaints.
It is hardly necessary for me to point out to your excellency the
inconvenience to which the owners or captains are subjected in the event
of their vessels being fined
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(as in the cases of the George W. Chase, Ellie Knight, and Santiago,
above referred to) in consequence of the royal order above mentioned.
They are not only obliged to deposit the amount of the fine, but are
also compelled to await the decision of the authorities here as to
whether or not it (the fine) has been justly imposed, and as the
distance between Cuba and Madrid is so great, the time occupied in
transmitting the facts of the case here and arriving at a decision must
necessarily be long. Meanwhile the owners of the vessels or the captains
are kept out of their money, and, as the sums so withheld are often
quite large, it is only natural that they should make complaints to the
government at Washington.
In view of these complaints, and of the frequency with which American
vessels have of late been victims to the arbitrary conduct of
subordinate customs officials in Cuba, the President, after having given
the subject his most serious consideration, has directed the Secretary
of State to instruct this legation to invite, through your excellency,
the attention of the government of His Catholic Majesty to the matter,
and in so doing to request that, as a proper means of doing away with
such complaints in the future, as well as to counteract any arbitrary
proceedings of the customs officials, authority may be given either to
the captain-general of the island of Cuba or to His Catholic Majesty’s
envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary at Washington to
consider cases of fines imposed on American vessels in Cuban or in other
Spanish colonial ports, and to grant redress when the facts of the case
shall so warrant.
I have, therefore, the honor to bring the subject to your excellency’s
attention, not doubting that, in view of the importance attached to it
by my government, the wishes of the President, as above expressed, will
be most willingly and speedily complied with on the part of His Catholic
Majesty’s government.
I gladly avail myself, &c.,
