Hon. William H. Seward,
Secretary of State.
Mr. Harvey to the Count de Avila
Legation of the United
States,
Lisbon,
April 26, 1865.
Sir: A royal decree, issued under date of
the 11th instant, and countersigned by the late ministry, assumes to
establish provisionally the rates of duty that shall be paid in this
kingdom for the admission of various cereals, discriminating between
ports on the sea and what are called portos
seccos—dry ports. This discrimination not only draws
invidious discrimination between countries standing upon the same
footing by commercial treaties with Portugal, but it does so with a
prejudice on the one side and a partiality on the other that are
inconsistent with those obligations.
For example, a duty of six hundred reis per hundred kilogrammes is
imposed on wheat in grain and eight hundred reis on wheat in flour
in the sea ports, while but two hundred and four hundred reis,
respectively, are imposed on the same articles in the dry ports. It
is very well known that the only dry ports are those along the
Spanish frontier, which are wholly inaccessible to all other
nations, and consequently the effect of the decree in its existing
form is to give a preference to the productions of Spain, at the
expense of other countries enjoying the same rights.
Article three of treaty between Portugal and the United States
declares as follows:
“No higher or other duties shall be imposed on the importation into
the kingdom and possessions of Portugal of any article the growth,
product, or manufacture of the United States of America, and no
higher or other duties shall be imposed on the importation into the
United States of America of any article the growth, product, or
manufacture of the kingdom and possessions of Portugal, than such as
are, or shall be, payable on the like article, being the growth,
product, or manufacture of any other foreign country.”
It has been shown that the terms of the decree are in conflict with
the article of the treaty by a large discrimination in favor of
Spanish grains and flour, to the injury of those of other
countries.
At this time there are, at least, ten American ships at Porto loaded
with grain, the growth and product of the United States, and others
are daily expected to arrive here and there.
Those cargoes are not fairly subject to the prejudicial distinction
which the decree assumes to make for the exclusive advantage of one
nation over all others, and, therefore, this representation is now
made in the expectation and belief that his Majesty’s government
will take immediate measures to correct an error so manifest in
itself, so urgent in its operation, and so violative of the spirit
of the treaty.
The hope is entertained, inasmuch as there are large interests at
stake and an important commerce may be seriously affected, that this
matter may at once engage attention. The cargoes in question will
not be discharged from the ships until the decision of his Majesty’s
government is known.
I avail myself of this occasion to renew the assurances of my most
distinguished consideration.
His Excellency the Count de Avila,
Minister and Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs.
