chandise destined for Bolivia, and those exported by Bolivia, by this route, is made to suffer innumerable charges, such as obliging boats destined for Puerto Suarez (Bolivia) to discharge at Puerto de Corumba (Brazil) and to pay enormously high wharfage and fines; and finally, the packages are opened with great prejudice to Bolivian merchants. But even yet the onerous charges to which these small vessels making the service between Corumba and Puerto Suarez are subjected are such that in various instances the transport of navigation cost as much as the freight, on the same shipment, from Montevideo to Corumba, separated from twelve to fourteen days of navigation. The Pinilla-Soler agreement, therefore, satisfies the practical needs of Bolivia; giving it a port of its own upon the river Paraguay to the north of parallel 20° 30', where Puerto Pacheco, in the highlands of Chamacocos, is situated. This port, which will be the point of the beginning of the railway to Santa Cruz de la Sierra, possesses great interest not alone with respect to the commercial independence of Bolivia, but also for the American company building the railways of the interior; which system must, in the course of its development, connect with that of Santa Cruz in order to have an additional line for commercial interchange. BRAZIL. PREFERENTIAL TARIFF CONCESSIONS IN FAVOR OF AMERICAN PRODUCTS. (Continued from Foreign Relations, 1906, p. 113.) File No. 836/44. Ambassador Griscom to the Secretary of State. [Telegram.-Paraphrase.] AMERICAN EMBASSY, Petropolis, January 2, 1907. (Mr. Griscom states that the continuance of our 20 per cent preferential tariff reduction was authorized by the Congress which expired December 30, and that the preferential continues as before, except that linotypes and cash registers are added under the classification of typewriters.) File No. 836/44. No. 37.] The Acting Secretary of State to Chargé Lorillard. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 5, 1907. SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Griscom's telegram of the 2d instant, as follows: " While Ambassador Griscom says nothing about the issuance of a presidential decree based on the legislative authorization herein notified, the department assumes that there will be no break in the continued enjoyment of American products of the old preferential reductions. It is to be remarked, however, that although the Congress of Brazil gave a similar authorization fully one year ago, it was not until July 4 last that the Brazilian Government proclaimed the 20 per cent reduction to take effect July 1, 1906, and terminating December 31, 1906. I inclose a copy of Daily Consular and Trade Reports, No. 2614, of July 14, 1906, containing, on page 8, the list of articles of American origin to which the preferential reduction applied last year. It is a matter of gratification that linotypes and cash registers are to be added under the classification of typewriters. I am, etc., a Supra. ROBERT BACON. File No. 836/46. Chargé Lorillard to the Secretary of State. [Telegram.-Paraphrase.] AMERICAN EMBASSY, Petropolis, January 10, 1907. (Mr. Lorillard reports that the President of Brazil signed a decree yesterday continuing our 20 per cent preferential tariff until December 31 next.) File No. 836/46. The Acting Secretary of State to Chargé Lorillard. [Telegram.-Paraphrase.] DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, January 10, 1907. (Mr. Bacon states that the action of the President of Brazil decreeing the continuance of the preferential tariff is highly appreciated as evidence of friendly good will.) File No. 836/53-54. Chargé Lorillard to the Secretary of State. No. 96.] AMERICAN EMBASSY, Petropolis, January 14, 1907. SIR: I have the honor to inform you that on the 3d instant I received the following telegram: AMERICAN AMBASSADOR, Petropolis: PERNAMBUCO, January 1, 1907. 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: HENRY FORSTER, Recife: PETROPOLIS, January 3, 1907. 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. to which Messrs. Forster replied as follows: AMERICAN AMBASSADOR, Petropolis: Collector not received instructions. LORILLARD, Chargé. RECIFE, January 4, 1907. 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: AMERICAN AMBASSADOR, Petropolis: RECIFE, January 5, 1907. 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: CONSUL AMERICANO, Pernambuco: PETROPOLIS, January 5, 1907. 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: His excellency Baron RIO BRANCO, Rio: PETROPOLIS, January 8, 1907. 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; 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., GEORGE LORILLARD. a Supra. [Inclosure-Translation.] Decree No. 6317, of January 10, 1907. Orders Decree No. 6079, of June 30, 1906, to be observed. The President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil, having in view what was ordered by article 6 of law No. 1144, of December 30, 1903, corroborated by article 18 of law No. 1452, of December 30, 1905, and article 17 of law No. 1616, of December 30 last, decide that during the present year decree No. 6079 of June 30, 1906, shall be observed. Rio de Janeiro, January 10, 1907, nineteenth of the Republic. AFFONSO AUGUSTO MOREIRA PENNA. File No. 836/63-64. No. 102.] Chargé Lorillard to the Secretary of State. AMERICAN EMBASSY, Petropolis, January 30, 1907. SIR: In continuation of my No. 96, of January 14 last, relative to the complaint of Messrs. Forster & Co., of Pernambuco, that American flour was not accorded the 20 per cent tariff reduction as authorized by Congress and my actions thereon resulting in the decree of January 10 last, I have now the honor to inclose herewith a copy and a translation of a note from the foreign office, dated the 28th instant, whereby it appears that, as my telegram of protest was brought to the knowledge of the ministry of finance, the various customs authorities were instructed by telegraph to continue the rebate of 20 per cent on certain American articles during the whole of the present year, and that the customs delegate at Pernambuco has been directed to return the additional duties collected on American flour during the period extending from January 1 to January 17 last. I have so informed the consul at Pernambuco. [Inclosure. Translation.] GEORGE LORILLARD. The Minister for Foreign Affairs to Chargé Lorillard. MINISTRY OF FOREIGN RELATIONS, Rio de Janeiro, January 28, 1907. MR. CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES: Having brought to the knowledge of the ministry of finance the telegram which you sent me on the 8th instant relative to the refusal of the customs-house of Pernambuco to concede the reduction of 20 per cent in the dispatch of American flour, I have just been informed by it that, by a telegram of the 17th instant, the customs delegates were instructed to obey decree No. 6317, of the 13th instant, extending during the present year the favor conceded by No. 6079, of June 30, 1906, to various articles of an American source. In addition, the same ministry has already authorized the customs delegate of Pernambuco to cause to be refunded the surplus duties collected, at the respective custom-house, during the time when the fulfillment of said decree 6079 ceased and that when the one of No. 6317 came into force. I take advantage of the occasion, etc., RIO BRANCO. |