Mr. Uhl to Mr. Olney.
Berlin, December 2, 1896.
Following is a translated copy of reply of secretary of state for foreign affairs to my representation made pursuant to your instructions by cable re tonnage, light dues, etc.
Uhl: Memorandum.—On January 24, 1888, the Imperial minister at Washington made the following statement to the Secretary of State of the United States: “That no tonnage or light-house dues or any equivalent tax or taxes whatever as referred to in the act of Congress of June 19, 1886, are imposed upon American vessels entering the ports of Germany neither by the Imperial Government nor by the governments of the German maritime states, and that vessels belonging to the United States of America and their cargoes are not required in German ports to pay any fee or due of any kind or nature or any import due higher or other than is payable by German vessels or their cargoes.” The conditions, as has been ascertained by reports which have been made recently to the foreign office at its request by the German maritime states, are the same now. It is moreover impossible that any change should take place, as article 54 of the Imperial constitution states expressly that the dues which are to be paid in German ports by domestic as well as foreign ships or by their cargoes may not exceed the amount necessary to maintain the commercial and naval offices at the place in question. The dues which are collected in certain German harbors are only an equivalent for services actually rendered the ships.
All these dues are strictly regulated by the principle of reciprocity on account of the work which has been done in certain harbors and rivers for the advantage and use of domestic and foreign ships. In particular is this the character of the dues in the lower Weser (Bremen) as they are collected merely for the purpose of paying for the improvement of the channel and are not allowed to exceed the amount which is necessary for this purpose. The improvement of the channel makes it possible for large ships to go to Bremen, while formerly such ships could only go to Bremerhaven. All other dues in German ports are exacted for similar reasons, and consequently it is incorrect and shows an entire misconception of the nature of the German dues to compare them with what are known in America as “tonnage dues,” which are state dues, and which are collected to defray the expenses of the government for common defense and general welfare, as is shown by the report of the Commissioner of Commerce to the Secretary of the Treasury for the year 1895, page 49, where they are applied to the Marine-Hospital Service. What are known especially on the lower Weser as light or beacon dues, are exacted for the lighting of that particular river, and ought not to be compared with what are known in America as light-house dues. Light-house dues in the American sense are not levied in Germany. All the dues which are levied in German seaports are levied upon domestic as well as foreign ships on the same scale.