Mr. Gresham to Mr.
Taylor.
Department of State,
Washington, December 9,
1893.
No. 65.]
Sir: Referring to my telegram of the 2d, and
your reply of the 5th instant, copies of which are inclosed, regarding
an embargo of $3,000 upon the property of Hidalgo & Co., of Havana,
consignees of the Ward Line of steamers, for fines levied upon the
steamers of that line for errors in manifests, I have now to transmit to
you a statement presented to the Department by an attorney of the line,
dispatches from the consulate-general at Havana, and other
correspondence, which will give you full information regarding the
case.
You will observe from the list of fines annexed to dispatch No. 2050 of
the vice-consul-general that $944 of the amount claimed is for fines
ranging from $10 to $304 for unimportant errors in twelve different
manifests. In addition to the amount accruing from this source there is
a single fine of $2,400 levied upon the steamship City
of Washington, reported in No. 2051 of the vice-consul-general.
This particular fine affords an excellent example of the character of
the fines in general and of the technical reasons for which they are
levied.
[Page 578]
A bill of lading called for 141 tierces of lard, amounting to 25,900
kilos. In transcribing the manifest of the vessel’s cargo a zero was
dropped, owing to the indistinctness of the figures on the bill of
lading, so that the manifest read 2,590 kilos instead of 25,900. For
this simple clerical error, where there is no pretext for a charge of
fraudulent intent, lard being free of duty under our reciprocity
arrangement, the consignees of the vessel have been ordered to pay
$2,400.
The inclosed letters from Mr. J. M. Ceballos, the New York agent of the
Spanish Transatlantic Company (Compañía Transatlántica Española), and
from the collector of customs of the port of New York, show conclusively
that no fines are imposed upon Spanish vessels in any port of the United
States for clerical errors of any kind in their manifests. These
vessels, under the customs regulations of this country, have the right,
in case the cargo is in excess of manifest, to make a post entry, and in
case of the cargo being short of manifest to make an affidavit stating
that the missing portion has been left behind.
In connection with this long-standing cause of complaint against the
customs officials of Cuba, which undoubtedly grows out of the moiety
system existing in that island, you are referred to dispatch No. 1300,
from the consul-general at Havana, dated March 31, 1891, a copy of which
was transmitted to your legation with the Department’s No. 62, of April
9, same year. This dispatch gives a clear exposition of the whole
subject of this annoying class of fines, and especially calls attention
to the lack of reciprocity between the treatment of Spanish vessels in
American ports and of American vessels in Spanish ports.
Your attention is particularly called to the statement annexed to that
dispatch of the cases in which additions to the manifests of Spanish
vessels were made by post entries at the port of New York during the
years from 1884 to 1890, both inclusive. This statement shows that 38
Spanish vessels made entry with cargoes in excess of their manifests,
and that they were allowed to amend by post entries on payment of a fee
of $2 each, or $76 in all.
You are instructed not only to protest against the levy of the fines upon
the Ward Line and the embargo upon the property of Messrs. Hidalgo &
Co., but also to make a general statement of the question of these
annoying and groundless impositions on American vessels, and to state,
in the interest of our commerce, it is the opinion of this Government
that the same considerate treatment should be extended, to American
vessels in Spanish ports as is received by Spanish vessels, in all ports
of the United States.
The statements of Mr. Ceballos, and the collector of the port of New
York, and the list of post entries made by Spanish vessels, seem of
especial value, and it is regarded as advisable that copies of these
documents, in addition to any others that you may select, should be sent
to the minister of state as inclosures to your presentation of the
case.
I am, etc.,
[Inclosure 1 in No. 65.]
Mr. Neale to
Mr. Strobel.
Washington, December 4,
1893.
Sir: Referring to the conversation which
the Hon. Ramon O. Williams and I had with you some days since in
respect to the fines which are being imposed by the customs
department at Havana upon the vessels [Page 579] of the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company, I
beg leave to inclose herewith the original statement,1 as received from Havana, of
the various fines imposed upon the ships, with translation of the
same. From this statement you will note that all of the fines
imposed are for very trivial matters, mostly clerical errors, which
are almost unavoidable owing to the detail required on the Spanish
manifests and the rapidity with which the manifests have to be made
up in order to allow the ships of the company to sail on time. In
many instances, to oblige shippers the company receives goods up to
one hour of sailing; then the manifest has to be made out. After
that, an employee of the commany must go to the Spanish consul and
get him to look it over and visé it.
You can readily apprehend the difficulties that are experienced and
how easy it is, among so many bills of lading and the corresponding
entries on the manifests, to have mistakes.
I beg also to submit to you two recent manifests which will give a
good idea of the amount of labor involved. When it is considered
that all this work has to be done at a lightning rate of speed, it
is a very simple matter to have an error creep in. Two cases will
illustrate the injustice which is being done the New York and Cuba
Mail Steamship Company.
Quite recently in Cienfuegos they imposed a fine on one of the ships
of the company of $50 on account of an error in the entry of some
hams weighing 2,000 pounds, which in Spanish is “dos mil.” On the
original manifest, made in New York, this was correctly written out,
but the purser, in making copies for the customs officials in Cuba,
wrote “doce mil” instead of “dos mil.”
Another instance is a fine that was imposed on the City of Washington for an error in the weight on manifest,
the bills of lading reading “tierces lard weighing 25,900 kilos.”
The figures on the bills of lading were not very plain, and the
manifest clerk wrote, in copying, “2,590” instead of “25,900” kilos.
As the article (lard) is free of duty, it is plainly evident that no
fraud was intended by the company; and yet, notwithstanding, the
officials in Cuba are endeavoring to collect a fine of $2,400 on the
ship for this small error.
I beg also to inclose you letters from the collector of customs of
the port of New York, and from Messrs. J. M. Ceballos & Co.,
agents of the Spanish line, which state that all Spanish vessels in
the port of New York, or in any other port of the United States, are
allowed, in case of mistakes in their manifests, to amend the same,
and no fines whatsoever are imposed under any circumstances for
clerical errors of any kind.
The intent of the treaty with Spain regarding Cuba and Puerto Rico is
certainly reciprocating in the treatment of such matters, and it
appears to me that it is fully within the province of the State
Department to insist that Spanish authorities shall treat American
vessels in their waters as fairly and courteously as Spanish vessels
are treated in American waters.
The New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company has mail contracts on
routes 69 and 70, “O. M. S.,” with the United States Government, and
is compelled to sail promptly with United States mails. It is
frequently very difficult to make shippers get their bills of lading
and other documents into the office of the company in time, and the
employes of the company are invariably rushed at the last moment in
making up the manifests, which, as stated above, after being written
out and hectographed in the office of the company, have to be taken
to the Spanish consul to be examined and viséd by him.
[Page 580]
It is, consequently, very easy at any time to have clerical errors
creep in which can not be found at the moment.
Invariably, when any errors are found in a manifest after the ship
has sailed, the company cables its agents at Havana, informing them
of the error, and instructing them to notify the customs-house
authorities of the same prior to the arrival of the ship. It is
possible, however, that such errors might not be discovered, and it
is only right and proper that, should the purser in examining the
manifests and bills of lading discover one, he should be allowed to
report the same to the authorities on arrival at Havana.
As the company never has any interest whatsoever in the goods shipped
to Cuba except as forwarders, there can be no intent of fraud upon
their part.
The whole difficulty in Cuba arises from the existence of the moiety
system. Officials are badly paid, and naturally look every way they
can to make money.
This subject was very exhaustively considered by Consul-General
Williams in report No. 1300, dated Havana, March 31, 1891, addressed
to Hon. William F. Wharton, Assistant Secretary, to which I beg to
call your attention; and also in a letter written by Jas. E. Ward
& Co., of New York, addressed to the Secretary of State about
the years 1883 and 1884.
You can readily apprehend the great annoyance to which the New York
and Cuba Mail Steamship Company is being subjected by reason of the
course pursued by the customs-house department at Havana. It is only
a few days since that a cable was received stating “Our tugs stopped
by authorities.”
In behalf of the New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company I beg to
request that the Department will promptly bring this matter to the
attention of our minister at Madrid with a view that some action may
be taken by the Spanish Government to right the wrong which is being
done the company, and that in the meantime, our consul-general at
Havana be instructed to ask that there shall be a suspension of all
proceedings pending the adjudication of the questions involved at
Madrid.
Very truly, yours,
S. C. Neale,
Counsel, New York and Cuba Mail Steamship
Company.
[Inclosure 2 in No. 65.]
Messrs. Ceballos &
Co. to Messrs. James E. Ward &
Co.
Compañía Transatlántica Española,
New York, November 16, 1893.
Gentlemen: Confirming conversation of this
date with your representative, we wish to state that on manifests of
our steamers arriving in New York, in case cargo is in excess of
manifest, we are allowed by the United States customs authorities to
make a post entry; and in case of cargo being short of manifest we
are allowed to make an affidavit stating that the same was left
behind. We have availed ourselves of this privilege on many
occasions and have thereby avoided any fine being imposed on our
steamers.
Yours, very truly,
J. M. Ceballos &
Co.,
Steamship
Department.
[Page 581]
[Inclosure 3 in No. 65.]
Certificate of collector of customs.
Office of the Collector of Customs,
Port of New
York.
To whom it may concern:
This is to certify that Spanish vessels, and the vessels of all other
nations, are required, under section 2887, United State’s Revised
Statutes, to make post entries of cargo unmentioned in manifests by
accident or mistake.
Given under my hand and seal of office
this 16th day
of November, 1893.
[
seal.]
James T. Kilbraith,
Collector of
Customs.
[Inclosure 4 in No. 65.]
Mr. Springer to
Mr. Uhl.
Consulate-General of the United States,
Havana, November 18, 1893. (Received November
24.)
No. 2050.]
Sir: I transmit herewith copy of a letter
received from Messrs. Hidalgo & Co., consignees in this city of
the steamships of the Ward line, of New York, accompanying a list of
fines imposed by the customs authorities of this port on steamers of
said line amounting to $944, and stating that they had been
threatened with legal proceedings; and also copy of a letter from
Mr. Frederico de Zaldo, as a citizen of the United States, and one
of the firm of Hidalgo & Co., stating that the customhouse had
embargoed property of the concern for the purpose of selling it and
applying proceeds to payment of said fines.
I had agreed with Mr. Zaldo to call upon the intendente general at
noon in relation to these fines, and to ask a suspension of the
proceedings against the firm, but a few minutes before I received
the telegram of the Department of State “to request the
governor-general to suspend proceedings against Hidalgo & Co.
for fines upon Ward’s steamers pending representation at
Madrid.”
In obedience to these instructions, I at once addressed a
communication to his excellency the governor general, which I
delivered in his hands at 5 p.m. yesterday. His excellency read the
communication and remarked that it should have been sent to the
intendente general, before whom all such claims should come. I
explained that I was acting in obedience to direct instructions; and
further, that this consulate-general had not yet received any
acknowledgment or communication from the intendente’s office to the
recent representations of this consulate-general. His excellency
called the attention of the political secretary, who was present,
and said that the matter should receive immediate attention and be
referred to the intendente general.
I am, etc.,
James A. Springer,
Vice-Consul-General.
[Page 582]
[Annex 1 to inclosure 4 in No.
65.]
Messrs. Hidalgo &
Co. to Mr. Springer.
Havana, November 11,
1893.
Sir: Herewith we hand you copy of fines
imposed on several of the American steamers belonging to the Ward
line, of which we are agents here, and as the ejecutor de apremies has threatened us with legal
proceedings in this matter, we beg to notify you of this fact, and
at the same time you are requested to take the necessary steps near
the Government in our behalf, as customary.
We are, etc.,
[Annex 2 to inclosure 4 in No.
65—Translation.]
Fines upon masters.
| 1. |
S. S. Seneca, from New York, April 10, 1893, for not
stating, item 65 of manifest No. 1063, the weight of 25
cases of petroleum, entered as 773 kilos by Messrs. Astuy
& Co |
$10 |
| 2. |
S. S. Seneca, New York, April 10, for not stating, item 64
of manifest No. 1063, contents of certain packages, entered
as hardware by Don J. A. Ortiz |
10 |
| 3. |
S. S. City of Alexandria, New York, May 6, for not
stating, item 103 of manifest No. 1165, contents of 2 boxes
and 1 cask, mark W. H., entered as hardware by Uriarte &
San Martin |
10 |
| 4. |
S. S. Orizaba, New York, May 16, for not stating, item 123
of manifest No. 1204, class of goods of 1 case and 1 barrel,
mark F. L., entered as varnished metal and glass by Trafaga
& Puente |
10 |
| 5. |
S. S. Saratoga, New York, May 21, for consigning to order,
item 6 of manifest No. 1231, 8 packages empty bags, mark
Bejucal, entered for consumption by Manuel P. Perez |
10 |
| 6. |
S. S. Saratoga, New York, May 24, for after having
correctly stated number of barrels, items 130, 131, 132, and
133 of manifest No. 1231, adding a note, sanctioned by the
consul, “that of the said lots, 900 barrels, more or less,
were not shipped and will come by next steamer” |
10 |
| 7. |
S. S. Yucatan, New York, May 17, for consigning to order
item 167, of manifest No. 1,215, 1 bale hemp, mark H in
diamond, entered for consumption by Messrs. Bridat, Montras
& Co |
10 |
| 8. |
S. S. Orizaba, New York, April 12, for being short in
discharge, manifest No. 1,071, 2 barrels beer, mark F.
Barraque |
100 |
| 9. |
S. S. Yumuri, New York, May 22, for being short in
discharge, manifest No. 983, 1 package sole leather, mark C.
204 in diamond; 1 package goods, mark C. 104/91 in diamond;
1 seroon indigo, mark G. M. |
150 |
| 10. |
S. S. Orizaba, from Vera Cruz, April 28, for not having
stated in manifest No. 1,111 gross weight 350 baskets
garlic, entered by Messrs. B. de Codes & Co |
210 |
| 11. |
S. S. Niagara, New York, June 26, for having in excess of
cargo discharged 100 boxes cheese, mark H. & Co.,
entered by Higgins |
304 |
| 12. |
S. S. Saratoga, New York, August 30, for not stating item
118 of manifest No. 188, the kind of goods contained in 42
packages, 45 cases, and 4 crates, mark A. C., which were
entered as velocipedes, hardware, oil, and wooden handles,
by Messrs. Uriarte & San Martin |
10 |
|
Total |
944 |
Hidalgo & Co.
Havana, November 11,
1893.
[Annex 3 to inclosure 4 in No.
65.]
Statement of F. de Zaldo.
Havana, November 15,
1893.
I, Federico de Zaldo, a citizen of the United States, member of the
firm of Hidalgo & Co., beg to state—
That the custom-house authorities have embargoed the property of this
concern with the object of disposing of it by public auction and
keep the proceeds to cover [Page 583]
certain alleged fines imposed on the American steamers of the “New
York and Cuban Mail Company”; therefore, I beg to appeal that you
kindly intervene with the Government to suspend proceedings.
For the last few years, periodically, we have been obliged to trouble
you about these matters, and your intervention has always resulted
most efficient. The present fines, as you will note by inclosed
list, are for the same causes as in former occasions—for the use of
vague words, etc. The largest tine of $304 is imposed for having the
steamship Niagara landing 100 boxes of cheese
not manifested. This steamer sailed on the 22d of June, and the next
day we received a cable advising that this steamer had 100 boxes not
manifested. On the 24th—two days before the arrival of the ship—we
notified the custom-house authorities of the error, but nevertheless
the fine was imposed.
Thanking you in advance for your intervention,
I remain, etc.,
F. de Zaldo,
Of Hidalgo & Co.
[Annex 4 to inclosure 4 in No.
65—Translation.]
Notice of Embargo.
Administration of Customs of the Port of
Havana,
Bureau of Collection
of Revenue.
In the proceedings of attachment followed against Messrs. Hidalgo
& Co., of this city, for the payment of $914, amount due for
fines imposed upon the American steamers Niagara,
Yumuri, City of Alexandria, Yucatan, Orizaba, Saratoga, and
Seneca, manifests numbers 354, 983, 165,
1215, 1143, 1204, 1071, 188, 1231, and 1063, the collector of
customs of this custom-house, by decree of the 14th instant, has
ordered the embargo on goods, property, fruits, and rents, by virtue
of which, under this date and in accordance with regulations, I have
proceeded to levy upon and embargo in favor of the Government the
steamboat Guillermo de Zaldo, of 61.64 tons,
belonging to Havana, register 1010, in use by said firm in Havana
Bay, which I left as a deposit and at the disposal of the Treasury,
reserving the right to appoint another depository, should it be
necessary, and notifying them of their right to appoint an appraiser
on their side within the period fixed by law.
(Signed)
R. M.
Riveron,
The
Commissioner.
Havana, November 15,
1893.
[Annex 5 to inclosure 4 in No.
65.—Translation.]
Mr. Springer to
the Governor-General.
Excellency: I have the honor to inform your
excellency that this consulate-general has received a letter from
Messrs. Hidalgo & Co., consignees in this port of the steamships
of the Ward Line (New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company),
advising that, under date of the 11th instant, the custom-house of
this port had imposed a number of fines upon the steamships of said
line, from April last, amounting to $944, and had notified them that
it would proceed to collect them by judicial procedure; and that
under date of 15th instant I have received a complaint and protest
from Mr. Federico de Zaldo, as a citizen of the United States and a
member of the said firm of Hidalgo & Co., to the effect that the
customs authorities had already embargoed property of the firm, for
the purpose of selling it at public auction and applying its
products to the payment of said fines.
Without entering into any considerations upon the said fines, which
are in every respect similar to others that have been imposed by the
custom-house of this port upon the steamships of said line, and
which has required the intervention of this consulate-general near
the superior authority, and in the former communications from this
office have been given the reasons and the grounds for asking the
suspension of the arbitrary proceedings of the customs authorities
whilst the corresponding claim is being made through the diplomatic
channels to the Government at Madrid, I have now, in obedience to a
telegraphic instruction received to-day from the Assistant Secretary
of State of the United States, to respectfully solicit your
excellency to be pleased to order to be suspended all the
proceedings initiated and followed against Messrs. Hidalgo & Co.
as consignees of the aforesaid steamships for payment of the fines
imposed by the customs authorities of this port, pending the
resolution of the matter presented to his majesty’s Government at
Madrid.
I am, etc.,
Joseph A. Springer,
Vice-Consul-General.
[Page 584]
[Inclosure 5 in No. 65.]
Mr. Springer to
Mr. Uhl.
Consulate-General of the United States,
Havana, November 18, 1893.
No. 2051.]
Sir: With further reference to the fines
imposed upon American steamships of the Ward Line of New York, I
accompany copy of a letter from Messrs. Hidalgo & Co., agents of
said line in this city, advising this office that the custom-house
had imposed a fine of $2,400 upon the American steamship City of Washington for an error in
weight.
Yours, etc.,
Joseph A. Springer,
Vice-Consul-General.
[Inclosure to inclosure 5 in No.
65.]
Hidalgo & Co. to
the U. S. Consul-General,
Havana.
Havana, November 17,
1893.
Sir: We have just learned that the
collector of customs has imposed a fine of $2,400 to the steamer City of Washington, for the following
reasons:
Bill of lading, in a most indistinct way, as you may see by the
inclosed copy, called for 141 tierces lard, 25,900 kilos, while the
manifest called for only 2,590 kilos, having left out the cipher,
which in the bill of lading could hardly be seen.
We hasten to notify you in view of the continuance of the arbitrary
proceedings of our custom-house authorities.
We are etc.,
